Quiet Reading [Open]

[Eric]

Eric nodded as he listened, it was true that there were the rare cases where men climbed the ranks to rule a nation. However, birthright played as much a part in a man's destiny as the dedication and effort one puts into achieving their goals. Saying Alm was greater than Marth simply because he was born at a lower station wasn't an apt comparison to their abilities, the factors each of them had control over. Both, in their own right were great men deserving of the title, and Eric wanted to say this but at the same time didn't want to interrupt. If there was one thing he hadn't expected it was for this girl to actually share her thoughts with him. Alright, amending that statement-- share thoughts other than how much she detested him. It wasn't until she got to the part when she admitted her father was an open supporter of Valm that things started making sense. Well, that explained why she held Valm and its leaders in such high regard and knew so much of its history.

Eric was about to answer when Isolde put in her two bullion. It gave him enough time to think, it was apparent she detested her father and perhaps resented him for some reason. Even so, she seemed to share his respect for Valm's history. Had she relocated to Ylisse when she was little or had she grown up in Valm? Whatever the case, it was clear that she was foreign and had somehow found herself in Ylisse. "It makes sense that patriotism would run in families.  Even when one no longer lives where they were born, people can't help but always think of that place as their home. I cannot presume to know Walhart, no matter what books I might read, I only know what I can infer from his actions. While he held values and principals that acted as a moral compass, he was a dangerous man who subjugated his homeland. So set on expanding his rule and proving his might that he even launched an assault against Ylisse while fighting a rebellion on his own doorstep. It was only after the Exalt Chrom defeated him that Valm knew peace after the long civil war." Eric looked thoughtful for a moment. "I don't think Walhart was entirely in the wrong... Perhaps he was a little overzealous in the goals of his conquest."

[Tsan'lo]

"He had the right as Emperor of Valm to conquer the continent." She sneered slightly. "Valm as an empire had ruled the whole continent for as long as any could remember, yet the weak bloodlines that sadly in the end spawned from Alm ruined the empire, reducing it to a small backwater nation. And then Walhart rose like a mighty eagle, picking of increasingly larger enemies one by one to show the might of Valm and of the empire he reforged from the ashes." She scratched her left cheek after her spout of patriotic nonesense. Or well, that's what it really was, but to her it was the truth.

"Let me tell you a story on my father." She gritted her teeth. "A horrible man. Truly distasteful and just all around hateable. He was one of the few who betrayed Cho'sin outright to stand with Walhart, and he was the first to kneel. He saw the greatness of the emperor first hand, the only real thing I can commend him on. And once Walhart was sadly overthrown, he left with my mother. I was born on a ship and I was raised on the road. I have never set foot in Valm, and I hate the few things that come from Valm that I've been close to, ergo my parents."

Her eyebrows furrowed. "I am no patriot of Valm. I simply respect the man that was Walhart, in all his glory."

Isolde Eric

[Isolde]

And finally, she actually learned the reason why the foreign woman hated her father so much. No wonder that the other young woman had been distant lately and that she had never set foot in Valm either. Possibly, the woman might be from another country other than Valm and it was possible that the young woman really had some kind of grudge against her father in particular. "I...can understand that you hate your father. Personally, I often resented my strict grandfather, but because he was the patriarch of my family, I suppose I am still expected to follow his rules." Everyone seemed to have some person in the family that they usually hated so much. For some reason, the conversation had shifted to the family members that were resented the most and it was getting dramatic with each response. She did not like arguing with the head of the family, but sometimes arguments would often have a winning side.

Eric Tsan'lo

[Eric]

It was interesting to see just what other people believed, to know what it was that made them think the way they did. But a woman's mind, especially this one's-- he just couldn't make any sense of it. She was displaying all the symptoms of patriotism, going on about sovereign right to rule, weak bloodlines tainting Valm and being unworthy, even injecting some nice metaphor with the 'mighty eagle' and 'rising from the ashes' bits. He couldn't help but think it sounded more like she were reciting from a Valm textbook than coming up with her own opinion. "Hmm..." He thought to himself as he listened, "I'm afraid I can't relate to your experience with your father. Mine's stern, but he's a good man. He thinks about the welfare of others before himself and constantly seeks for a way to improve the life of those who live in his care. I guess he's also part of the reason I am as I am. I respect your father, that he had such strong beliefs, and perhaps he even shared those beliefs with you at some point-- but it seems as though you understand that your father's beliefs are his own," He looked to Isolde, "and your grandfather's beliefs are his own. There is no right or wrong answer about what you believe in-- but you must always be prepared to fight for your beliefs and hold true to them. If ever your faith wavers in that, then perhaps it's time to re-evaluate the way you think about things."

He shrugged. Things were getting a little too personal for him-- starting out talking about the history of Valm and moving on to talk about patriotism, beliefs and the like. "It's good to be able to talk so openly every once in a while. I'm in no position to be counseling anyone, but it just comes down to what you value. If you value family and upholding your duty, or if you value your freedom to develop and become the kind of person you want." Wow, why couldn't he take his own advice? He knew what he was saying was right, but he was in much the same position. His parents had brought him up, grooming him to challenge for the role of Exalt-- though he had no interest in games of politics. There wasn't enough time to be wasting on parties and scratching the other Lord's backs to gain support, not with the state of Ylisse as it was. The lifestyle of the common man had degraded to the point that turning against the law had served many people well, even taking jobs to turn their blades against Ylisse.

Someone's going to have to do something or the country would plunge further into chaos.

[Tsan'lo]

She raised her eyebrow for a moment, before reaching to her belt. "I presume you follow Naga as a religion." She looked to the two, clearly not caring if they did or not. She then pulled out a bunch of different trinkets and little charms from her pouch. "I follow many gods and spirits. Naga is one of them, although very minor." She pointed to a little carved wooden dragon. "There's a few others. Spirits of animals, like wolves... Eagles, even a mole." She nodded, pointing to a small chain of metallic little animals.

"There's Grima as well, although as a minor deity alongside Naga." She nodded matter of factly before getting to the real beef and the largest trinket. A carving of sorts. "Walhart. A gods among men and a conqueror among the gods. He was strong enough to carve a dying empire, for he was a god that came to bless the world with his presence." She placed the carving and the other trinkets into her pouch. "I do not respect him out of patriotic fervor. I worship him due to belief in his godhood."

Isolde Eric

[Isolde]

And suddenly, Eric had taken a philosophical tone and told her that it was her own choice whether she should follow her grandfather's rules or her own. She turned to Eric after his speech was done. "Perhaps, you're right. I should be able to fight for my beliefs." The foreign woman pulled out a few trinkets while she had said that the both of them believed in Naga and to her, Naga was a minor deity. Indeed, the wooden dragon seemed to be an animal spirit of some sort as the woman clarified that Grima was also a minor deity to her as well. "Why yes, I do believe in Naga as it is a custom for my family to do as such." However, the mention of Walhart being worshipped was a little odd especially since he was just a conquerer and she eyed the miniature wooden statue of Walhart which was carved neatly in his likeliness. Perhaps, there was statues like these where the woman's family lived.

Eric Tsan'lo

[Eric]

Well, naturally he saw her as a goddess. He had grown up with the stories of Naga's grace and empathy toward the human race. He couldn't see where she was going with this, though, bringing up Grima the bringer of destruction in the same sentence. When she brought up the totems of animals, he had a little less understanding-- worshiping those seemed a bit too Tanguel for his taste. He could respect their beliefs, but he wasn't about to tell them they were wrong. And then she got to her point. It took all his restrain to not roll his eyes. If she was so keen on proving him wrong she could have just said so rather than going through some elaborate act with the carved wooden head of-- Walhart? She was just bringing up some exaggerated example to prove her point, right, she didn't actually believe he was a god? Though, the look in her eyes told him she was completely serious. Wait, really? Walhart? He couldn't believe this was a choice she had made on her own-- or if it was hadn't spent nearly the time thinking about it as much as she'd spent thinking about the very creative insults she spewed at him.

"Walhart the conqueror, he who descended from the heavens to show the pitiful vermin what true strength really was." He said aloud to himself. Actually, that sounded exactly like something she'd believe in.  Still, it wasn't something he'd expect a person to say who'd done any research on the subject herself. "Are you familiar with any texts recounting Walhart and his exploits? It's hard to find anything in Ylisse about him that isn't overflowing with bias, but taking only his actions and people's responses into account. Certainly he's not a god, but most definitely a great man in his own right." He could only imagine the prayers she offered to her diety. Oh Walhart the mighty, lend me your strength so I can properly gut all those who do not believe in your greatness-- grant me the power to burn the world to ash and build a new, perfect empire in its place. On second thought, maybe it's best to not think about those sorts of prayers...  

"Ah, actually, there was something... I'll be right back."  He got up from the table, moving toward the bookshelves.  He'd come back a moment later, setting a book in front of Tsan'lo.  "It's a book recounting the war between Valm and Ylisse.  I haven't read this particular version before, but I've studied the topic.  It's very interesting."

[Tsan'lo]

"You could put it that way, yes." She stroked the back of her neck in thought, seemingly just now noticing how into the conversation she had gotten. It was in ways embarrassing to be sharing such things about herself to strangers, especially to the lusty lordling. She shrugged once at the prayer remark. "I don't pray to him, in a way. I just keep his holy visage with me wherever I go and sometimes hold it when I feel like I need some bravery." She shrugged for a moment once more as the man tried to dispute her claims.

"To you he is no god, and to me your major deity is a simple spirit and nothing more. It is rather barbaric to deny my belief just on the basis of you stating that the person I think of as a savior and as an allmighty god is not actually that because he was killed by your exalt? How truly barbaric." She hook her head as she finally sat back down and returned to sharpening her swords, deciding to ignore the two from now on. Until the lordling would do something that is. Something like causing damage to the library property.

Isolde Eric

[Isolde]

And with that, the woman talked about that she actually carried the visage for bravery and good luck. Religious talk was a bit strange for a subject, but it had provided some insight on how the Valmese view the two major deities and Walhart in general. She realized that she hadn't started reading the other chapters of Marth's heroic deeds since contributing to the conversation. After that, the foreign woman went back to whatever she was doing and just ignoring the two of them. Silently, she resumed to looking at the pages where the words were made out to be where Marth recruited two of his cavaliers and one of them had to be the decoy. Strangely, she hadn't met anyone who was a cavalier just yet, but she had a feeling that she would do so sometime later. She had thought about what the woman had said in particular and Naga was just a small deity compared to Walhart. Well, the conquerer was just a man that conquered quite a bit of countries until the exalt managed to bring him down. There was no right or wrong answer as to who they were praying for anyway.

Eric Tsan'lo

[Eric]

Better to worship a Divine Dragon than keep some creepy guy's face in your pocket. He thought to himself, finding some vindication in his thoughts rather than facing retribution by uttering such a thing aloud. While he'd talked about standing up for beliefs, this one seemed to be more of her mindlessly believing whatever the hell she was being told than rationally thinking about it. At least Naga represented something greater than humanity. At least Grima represented something worse than humanity. Walhart-- he was just a man. Even the animals the Tanguel resembled were more worthy of having spiritual ties than Walhart.

Eric shrugged to himself. He hadn't insulted her for her absurd belief, especially not as she was insulting him for not believing in the same thing she did. He, honestly, didn't care if she had proclaimed Marth or her pet monkey as a deity, he probably would have given her the same treatment. Eric felt himself getting a little irritated and opened the random book he'd pulled off the shelf. How it Works: The Female Body. Interesting title, he'd never read this one before. He spent a moment flipping through the introduction, his mind still fuming. He turned the page and just stared at the picture for a moment. There were two eyes staring back at him. Wait a-- those weren't eyes. The thwap as he slammed the book shut between his hands must have been heard from the street outside the library. He might have closed it a bit too forcefully because it spun out of his hands, landing on the floor.

What kind of foul luck was this?! Was Walhart getting back at him from beyond the grave for denouncing his godhood?! That was the last thing he needed, some creepy faced old man sitting up in the sky watching him.

[Tsan'lo]

And with a thwap the book closed and with a slight bump it fell to the ground, some minor damage seemingly coming to the case. "Well." She drew out her two swords as she then rose up to a standing position, stretching herself for a while with something akin to a little smirk. "I think I mentioned that I'm being a guard here, yes? Well, I did want to throw your little lordling butt out here the moment you set foot inside, but sadly I had no reason. Protecting people from a womanizer does not come with the job sadly."

"But now I do have that one reason." She moved over to the book, carefully picking it up and examining the damages caused to the casing before placing it back to the shelf. "Damaging the library possessions, as in a book. Now, I can ask you to be removed peacefully, which is sadly something I must ask from everyone, or we could do it the more entertaining way for me with you refusing and me having to remove you by force."

She stroked her chin with a faint smirk and a tilt of her head. "Or you could pay me a bit in exchange of ignoring that horrid damage to the book. And by a bit I mean a large sum."

Isolde Eric

[Isolde]

A loud thwapping sound could be heard and the woman had basically told Eric that he damaged a library book and was going to be kicked out because of it. Not unless he had a large sum of money with him and could pay for the damages, but it wouldn't be prudent to intervene when there's swords drawn. Besides, it was Eric's problem, so he should be solving it for himself and he was the instigator. She silently pored over the pages of the book, just ignoring the scene in the library for now unless she was needed for something. Now this was getting interesting as Marth's forces had been preparing for another major battle and it was one of those memorable moments in history combined. She had aspired to be like the Hero King someday since the family probably had been told stories of him in their youth or something. It was possible that there might be old kingdoms out in the Plegian land somewhere.

Eric Tsan'lo

[Eric]

Eric hurriedly picked up the book, making sure to cover as much of the cover as possible in an arm he clenched to the side. How was he going to get out of this while still saving face It wasn't like he could just stand up and nonchalantly say 'oh by the way I'm just gonna switch out books cause the one I picked out is pretty lewd' or that'd just raise the perv flag even without Tsan'lo saying it every other sentence. At long last though, she finally gave him a reason-- perhaps unintentionally. "Oh, is that right?" He may have said a little too quickly. "Well, I'll just take my leave then. It was a pleasure seeing the both of you." He immediately made a bee-line for the exit without waiting for any response. Safe! He dropped the book in the return bin on his way out. His feeling of victory, however, was short-lived as he realized his position now. Great, robbed and now devoid of anything left to do. Worst part was he couldn't tell if he'd managed to make any progress on Tsan'lo hating him any less-- but at least Isolde seemed neutral at worst.

Well, it wasn't all bad. He'd met someone new. His stomach grumbled in rebuttal. Alright, maybe it was pretty bad. It was at least half a day back to camp. Well, the next best thing was to hunt. Maybe he'd spend some time catching game before heading back. He sighed and started walking slowly along the road that'd lead out of town.