text | username: archer

[anti_altruisms]

"Bring peace to Chantes, and restore the sun."

I've seen and heard a lot of talk over how we're meant to accomplish this task.

To those of you who are new and those who have been here from the start, I'm curious- ideally, how would you like to see such a goal accomplished?

Comments

[anti_altruisms]

Humans are fickle, stubborn creatures.

It will only be when they are backed into a corner with no way out that they will see the folly of their actions.

[respired]

Am I to understand that you are not human?

[anti_altruisms]

I was human.

Now I am what mages of my world call a Servant or Heroic Spirit.

Whatever we were in life, in death, we become the tools of humans, bound to serve them whenever we are summoned.

[respired]

[That's a striking revelation.]

And you have no choice in this summoning?

[anti_altruisms]

No.

A mage may choose the Heroic Spirit they summon based on the catalyst they possess, but we are not given the option of choosing our Masters.

[ They have the option here, of course, but that's more of an exception than the actual rule. ]

[respired]

You are slaves, then.

[anti_altruisms]

You don't mince words, I see.

[ He can appreciate that. ]

That is essentially what we are.

[respired]

I have experience with such things.

[anti_altruisms]

Do you also serve humans, 'deathweaver'?

Or it is something else that keeps you bound?

[respired]

I suppose my former master was once a human. But by the time he got to me, he was something more. For many years, my will was yoked to his.

I retained my intelligence, some semblance of who I was. But every choice I made was his choice, made for me. And it was the same for the others under his control.

[He is still bound. Bound to the dark magic that animates his body; bound to the pain; to the curse.]

[anti_altruisms]

Those of us who become Heroic Spirits retain a sense of who we are -- our lives, old obsessions and regrets.

It is also possible for us to act as we see fit, but the pact between a Master and Servant is such that their power is the life that sustains us. If we disagree with an order on principle they may command us with spells called Command Seals -- a higher magic than demands absolute obedience depending on the phrasing of the order itself.

In some cases, it can be an asset for it allows us to surpass our normal limitations -- in others, it is simply a means by which a Master may assert their authority over us.

[respired]

The death knights had no power to agree or disagree. Our wills were entirely subsumed.

These Seals. What sorts of tasks were you made to perform?

[anti_altruisms]

It depends on the Master.

The first time I recall being summoned by a mage, I had every intention of disregarding their instructions and fighting the war I was summoned to participate in the way I saw fit.

The mage in question used a Command Seal to compel absolute obedience.

Vague orders such as that are generally less effective than more specific ones, but it had the intended effect. Though I could still act out of turn, so to speak, the compulsion to obey was there.

The second that I remember was being ordered not to kill another Master so long as our truce was in effect. As long as it lasted, I could not harm him.

[respired]

['Absolute obedience' doesn't sound wonderful, but it's vague, as Archer said. And the second order ...]

In other words, you were restrained.

[anti_altruisms]

Essentially.

There are other uses for Command Seals, but that is the most common that I've seen.

[respired]

[It seems fairly benign, but even that kind of use is despicable to Koltira. After everything he's been through personally, he cannot condone those who control another thinking creature's actions--regardless of intent.]

We were made to sow chaos and destruction. I slaughtered families to the last, sparing no one. I killed daughters and raised them to set upon their fathers. I killed fathers and fed their sons the corpses.

This was the nature of my enslavement.

[anti_altruisms]

You were a weapon employed for the benefit of another.

[ That is what Servants are. It isn't so different. ]

[respired]

A terrible weapon. A terrible master.

Are you haunted by the things you've been asked to do?

[anti_altruisms]

I don't remember them.

[ Which is maybe a more sobering admission than the alternative. ]

I have vague recollections, knowledge of where and when I've been, but the details are lacking.

I remember death, killing people over and over again, but I couldn't tell you their names or their faces, or the crimes they committed to warrant their execution.

The memories of Heroic Spirits like myself are usually wiped clean after every summoning.

[respired]

Perhaps that is a blessing. Would that I could forget what I have done.

[anti_altruisms]

I would sooner remember the things I have done than forget and be forced to repeat the same cycle over and over again.

A lack of memory does not change what has been wrought by my own hands.

[respired]

True enough. Though my memories have not kept me from my captors either way.

Still, it's important to keep one's own burdens. I know what I am, at least.

[anti_altruisms]

We can only be what we are.

I'll make no apologies for acting as I see fit.

[respired]

Often I cannot even be that. Often I cannot act as I 'see fit'.

[WHICH MEANS WHAT, EXACTLY.]

[anti_altruisms]

Why is that?