expiationnet | o1; audio

—ere we go. Hello? If anyone can hear this I've got a question that's been rolling around in the ol' noggin for the last week or so if you don't mind humoring an old man, uh. I know this might be a sensitive topic to some people and I don't intend to pry if it is, but I'm curious...

_{[ There's a brief pause as if the speaker is hesitating out of nerves, but he's taking a moment or three to put the right words together. ]}

These crimes that we've all — I'm assuming it's all of us — have been accused of. Is... anyone actually guilty of them? I can't exactly argue 'bout mine when it's true on my end, but we can't all be "criminals" here, can we? What even determines that? 'Cause I promise you that where I'm from, something like... I dunno, stealing food for example is a matter of survival versus an actual crime but the more I listen to the folks who live here...

_{[ A shuffle, followed by a slow exhale. It's still so weird after the life he's lived. Eventually he'll Get It, but not today. Nope. Stars. Can't do it. ]}

Sorry. I'm, eh... I was raised in a world completely different than this one. Having the freedom to actually talk about this sort of thing is pretty new, 'specially in a place that looks like this. Speaking of, I've got one more question for whoever might be listening:

What does it mean to you? Freedom. There's no wrong answer so don't worry 'bout that.

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Understandably so. Your skepticism is well-earned.

[Dohalim won't deny him that for a moment, not when he is so determined to hold himself accountable for not only his own sins, but those of his countrymen. It is, perhaps, too big a job for one man, but he has no intention of making any excuses for such behavior.]

Freedom is a person's value not being determined by the circumstances of their birth, but by their passions and pursuits, what they seek to make of themselves. It is the gift of choice, to walk one's own path.

_{[ It's not even against Dohalim personally, but they both know that. Perhaps that's part of why Zephyr feels more at ease around him than he did any other Lord in his lifetime. That, and this one hasn't tried to, uh. Y'know, have him killed for Existing and being a general pain in the ass to every Calaglian-based Renan. A regular ol' boogeyman, this guy.

Everything he says, though? That's something. He finds himself cracking a faint smile to nobody but himself and his room, and he thinks he understands his son a little. He's different, Law had told him in his own way. Color him surprised. ]}

Their passions, huh? What if it was something people wouldn't necessarily agree with? Would they still be allowed to pursue them?

Such is the nature of free will.

[As ever, the former lord's voice is calm and even, thoughtful above all else. Zephyr, he feels, asks excellent questions, ones that make him want to dig a bit deeper into his own beliefs.]

All actions have consequences, for good or ill, but all people should be free to take those actions, if they so desire. I know something of your passions.

[And why so many would disagree with them— but Dohalim understands them well, he thinks.]

You long for liberation. For true freedom for your countrymen. Am I correct?

You kids been talkin' about me behind my back? Geez.

_{[ It's a quiet laugh, but it's still there. He knows there's no harm behind it and that much is clear in Zephyr's own voice. After a few moments he hums softly in thought, then nods to himself to an unseen audience. ]}

Yeah. For those of us who're still here, who aren't born yet, and for those who died fighting or as slaves. I know they won't get to experience it for themselves but I want to believe that their spirits can rest easy knowing that their families get to live life as they deserve.

_{[ It'd make it easier for Zephyr at any rate. He may not know the full story (nor is he sure if he wants to yet), but he does know that he's one of many who won't get to truly taste freedom as he'd like. Those weeks in Calaglia were filled with their share of struggles given they had to track down the other resistance groups, find and figure out where to send other Dahnans when Ulzebek couldn't support anymore of them, and taking care of everyone.

To say he had his hands full would've been the understatement of his life. ]}

And... for both Dahnans and Renans to live side by side, if need be. That one wasn't very popular amongst us, but just like how there were Dahnans that didn't agree with what I was doing, some small part of me thought that maybe there were Renans who didn't agree with what their people were doing either. Never actually fought side-by-side with one until we came across Shionne and, well... I made a choice to trust her, and it's one of the best damn decisions this old man has made.

_{[ It gives him hope that such a thing is possible. ]}

You chose well.

[Dohalim can only agree with him regarding Shionne, even considering the fact that she had attacked him during their first meeting— they had not known one another yet, had not understood one another, and she had thought him to be the same as every other Renan Lord. In her defense, he had not been quite so different as even his own people had hoped him to be.]

Coexistence is... a complex topic, at best. There are centuries of hatred and pain to be reconciled. I believe that it is possible— that it is the way forward, but achieving it will not be easy.

[Perhaps it will not even be managed in his own lifetime.]

I understand why the idea was not popular among your own. Your people can hardly be blamed for feeling that way.

They can't, no. I don't fault 'em for it either, and if I'm honest sitting at some negotiating table doesn't always sit right with me either given... Everything, like you said.

_{[ The pain. The anger. It's generations of suffering. His relationship with his own parents was strenuous, he never knew his grandparents... He has no idea what sort of life his family had before the Renans, and he never will. Zephyr makes a quiet noise in his throat and sighs. They shouldn't have to negotiate a damn thing, really. ]}

Even so... The cycle has to end somewhere. We've already proven it's possible in Calaglia and from what I've been told even Cyslodia's on her way to something similar. As for the other realms, I only know what Law has told me.

_{[ But it's possible. ]}

Menancia, too, is well on its way, though not quite so far along as it might have been, had I been more attentive.

[Many of the people there still sing his praises, and it does not sit right with him. They do not know the truth of the matter, do not know what initially drove him to make the choices he had— they only knew that it had made their lives better, for a time.

It wasn't enough. On the surface, his efforts may have appeared successful, but they simply were not enough.]

There are Renans, too, who are resistant to the idea. Resentful of any who might support such change. Unlike the Dahnans, however, I have little sympathy for my countrymen. People are not a resource, nor are they meant to be property.

o1; audio

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