The War of the Roil: The Knight and the Warlock

Chapter 12: Show of Power

Lara never left the room she'd been provided by Gammond's family for two days except to relieve herself and get water.

She constantly felt sick to her stomach, erasing her appetite.

A knock came from the door, made from clouded glass. It would be one of many knocks throughout the day by Gammond's parents.

"Lara."

Lara turned over in her bed. It was Gammond behind the door, his silhouette vaguely outlined in the opaque glass.

"Can I come in?" Gammond asked.

"Fine..." Lara mumbled,

Gammond gently opened the door and slipped inside.

"What do you want?" Lara asked.

Gammond hesitated, "I...I do not know. I am not exceptionally skilled in the area of...counsel. In fact, the very idea bothers me. But...you clearly need some help. I hate to see you like this, so I want to try as best I can."

"Gammond, there is no 'help' for this. I killed someone." Lara said, sitting up to face him, "I committed the gravest sin possible."

Gammond furrowed his brow, "What do you mean?"

"What I've done is unforgivable." Lara muttered.

"Unforgivable...by Bronduk's standards. Why do you still follow that tyrant of a god? You're here in Emreth. What you did was self defense. Had you not killed that man, he would have killed you." Gammond said.

"Why do I...do you want me to become some moraless, heartless person whose only emotion is apathy?" Lara spat, "Like you?"

Gammond's face fell with shock, "Is that truly what you believe I am?"

"Shit," Lara sighed, "Gam, I'm sorry. I'm just..."

"No, no." Gammond held up his hand, "If that's how you really feel, I am not one to deny that." He sat on the edge of the bed next to her. He smelled of mechanical oil, "But I do want to explain something. We Emreths have a saying. Krorspeng i mub pli ep. It means 'Struggle to find your path'. We should not seek to copy the moral code of another. Your mind may say what you did is wrong, but does your heart say?"

"How can you have morals without a god like Bronduk? That makes no sense."

"We Emryds follow our own codes of morals. The Church convinces everyone to follow Bronduk's commands not out of genuine desire, but out of fear and reverence. You yourself have only been talking about your own fate."

"You're calling me selfish?"

"Yes, but don't get me wrong. That's natural. We're all selfish at one point or another. That's not necessarily bad. When we create moral codes along our own empathy, we follow them with true conviction. You shouldn't be so hard on yourself because someone else told you what you did was wrong. What do you say? Do you truly think taking that man's life was unjustified?" Gammond asked.

"I...I don't know?" Lara frowned.

"And that's okay. This world is full of complicated answers to seemingly simple questions." Gammond stood up, "I did, however, come with a plan to take your mind off the subject for a while."

"And what's that?" Lara asked.

"Do you want me to show you what you can do with your flers?"

Lara thought for a moment. She had been eager to try her new powers. But her excitement had been severely dampened. She nodded, "Yes. That would be nice."

Gammond led her out of her room and downstairs. He deflected his family's comments and concerns, taking her to the backyard of the property. It was a pleasantly trimmed lawn, with gardens lining the stone walls around the property.