thebastion | Day 151

Entry tags:

Day 151 | Open

Who: Ryu and anyone who will humor him with questions.
Open: Open
When: Day 151
Where: All around the Bastion.
What: Ryu has some difficult questions for people.
Format: Either
Warnings: Possible mention of death/war/other upsetting topics. His questions today are running on the existential side.

After all the excitement of the day, Ryu is still left with questions. He just doesn't understand why people hurt each other, or go to war. He doesn't understand why people have to fight. None of this makes sense. And his heart hurts at thinking about all of these things, so there's really only one thing to do.

In the evening, Ryu approaches people, gently clearing his throat or tugging their sleeve if it doesn't look like that will provoke violence. It doesn't really matter the age - he knows he's one of the youngest in the Bastion anyway, even if he doesn't look it. Still, the worry in his eyes is evident as he speaks softly.

"... Do you mind answering some questions?"

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It's been a very very tiring day and Zulf shows every bit of it. Having to deal with the interrogation of the early morning, then Kid telling everyone without Zia and Zulf knowing, then having to hunt down the Kid and Zia on their own... Right now, he just wants to smoke his pipe, staring off into the distance away from the Bastion. The smoke curls about him in thick tendrils as he breathes it out. He actually seems surprised that someone is approaching him after all this.

"Ah... I'll do what I can to answer."

"Sorry... I know you've had a tough day. I just thought you might be a good person to ask."

He'll try to keep it as short as he can, but he knows that this isn't an easy question.

"I just want to know... why do humans hurt each other? Why do they have wars?"

So he's had to explain some very awful truths to people, argue with a very stubborn friend, get ignored by that same friend, broke that friend's nose (by accident he thought he would dodge), had some extremely emotional arguments, and is now being asked existential questions.

This is why he smokes.

Still, Zulf just gives a sigh and gestures besides him. "Sit down. I'll... try to explain as best as I can. It's something of a difficult question, however. There are a lot of different reasons for wars."

He nods, and sits down next to Zulf, pulling his knees up to his chest. He tilts his head a little, curiously, wondering what the older man is going to say.

Another deep inhale from his pipe, and then Zulf breathes it out. He already has a feeling he knows the answer to the question he's going to ask in turn, but it doesn't hurt to ask.

"The first main conflict between Caelondia and the Tazal Terminals happened some thirty years ago. It was called the Point Lemaign War. I imagine no one here has told you about it?"

Ryu shakes his head. History of anything is not his strong suit.

It seems he's had to explain the history between the two a lot lately. Oh well. Until they can find some decent history books, he'll have to do. Zulf takes a breath.

"Alright. You should know that the Ura have been here long before the Caels were. The Tazal Terminals is the main hub of everything, but we used to have tunnels that spread out all through the Wilds. Most of the danger was on the surface, after all. We could avoid it. However... For good and bad, people who lived on the surface normally wouldn't be able to tell where those tunnels lay."

Good because it mean that they didn't have to worry about anyone attacking them most of the time. Bad because... Well. He'll get to that.

"Caelondia was started around a hundred years ago, I believe. It used to be a small city, but it had a lot of ambition... The Ura viewed the Caels with a bit of suspicion. In return, the Caels thought the Ura, well... primitive. Certainly superstitious in the years to come. Still, despite things being tense, there were some positive relations between Caelondia and the Terminals. Trade was done between the two both in basic goods and in regards to territory- the Ura sold them a quarry that would become very valuable to Caelondia."

"However... Then Point Lemaign happened." Zulf nods to Ryu. "Are you keeping up so far?"

Then Ryu will have to learn how to read the history books, but yes. He listens carefully, trying to follow. So underground people and above ground people. He nods... he thinks he follows.

You don't look so sure, there, Ryu. Still, if you say so... Zulf continues on.

"Point Lemaign was going to be Caelondia's main point for something known as the Grand Rail. It would help bring them things from the Wilds- valuable material and the like. However, Caelondia had never talked to the Ura bout it. They didn't know that they were trespassing on Ura territory and they couldn't possibly know that their base of operations was being built right on top of Ura tunnels..."

Zulf takes in another deep breath of smoke as he thinks about it.

"The construction disrupted the underground so much, it caused cave-ins. There were some of my people who lost their lives. The fact that Caelondia had trespassed was bad enough. For them to have caused the loss of Ura lives? The Terminals were livid. Any communications quickly dissolved between both cities... and then the attacks started. It was war."

He flinches at the mention of lost lives. People carelessly trampling over others in pursuit of their goals... he's seen that already, and it's not right. It makes him upset and angry, and he has to fight back the rising tide of emotion in him.

"No one warned them that they were building over homes?"

"No." Smoke curling and fading and disappearing- Zulf turns his eyes away from it and begins to sketch out a rough map of the land in the ground. "There weren't any openings to the surface in that area so those living there couldn't tell the Caels to stop. And... That's the downside to having your people spread out through so much land." He makes an X far to the right.

"This is the Tazal Terminals."

And another X, nearer to the middle but a bit lower.

"That would be Point Lemaign, in relation to it. It doesn't look like a very long distance this way, but in reality... It's quite a treck. Before the Terminals could do anything, the damage was already done. I doubt Caelondia meant to cause such destruction, but that was what happened. It was misfortune all around, and neither side could come to any agreement on- anything, really."

"Oh no..."

He wipes his face - he's not going to cry, but he feels a little shaky thinking about it.

Yeah, it's... not a pleasant thing to think on. Zulf would know, considering his background. He just stays quiet for a moment, letting Ryu have a few seconds to himself, before speaking again.

"Caelondia technically won the war. However, both sides had lost many lives and used up a lot of resources. It was much harder on the Tazal Terminals, although I suppose I would be biased. However, the loser in a war has to give up a lot of things to the other side. A smaller military, land... that sort of thing." He takes in another deep breath of smoke, letting it curl heavy in the pit of his lungs and tighten in his throat.

"That is why the Point Lemaign War happened. A desire to grow stronger and see more leading to hastiness, which lead to things stolen and lives lost. In turn, that all lead to anger and bitterness."

"They should have negotiated. Talked it out, before more lives were lost..."

It's hard to imagine so many people dead. He has a hard enough time imagining so many people, period - but the thought of them dead shakes him even more.

"There's a lot of things people should do, when you can look back at it without being directly involved. Things are rarely that easy."

"But why can't they be?"

Sorry Zulf but Ryu is not an adult as much as he might look like one.

He's somewhat caught onto this, really. Zulf just sighs.

"Because people are flawed. That means sometimes it simply doesn't occur to them to do something else. Other times, they're too focused on one thing and not the other. There's probably more reasons than I can count."

"Oh..."

He looks down, shaking his head. Why? Humans are weird.

If Ryu isn't asking anymore questions, then Zulf is just going to keep smoking. It has been that kind of day. Besides, maybe silence will help the young boy to think over just what he's said. It might help. It might not.

He doesn't seem to mind the smoke. One of his companions at home is - was - an alcoholic, so he's used to just quietly letting people do what they need to.

After a bit, he speaks up again. "... It's hard to understand people. I'm trying, but... I'm not mortal. Not in the same way. I can't help but wonder if that's why I just can't seem to get it."

Yet another kind of person he's slightly unused to dealing with thanks to such a minor detail as 'not mortal'. He blows out the smoke sharply between his teeth.

"I imagine that would be a contributing factor. I... certainly didn't take you for it when we first met. How old are you?

He's quiet for a long few moments. He starts silently counting on his fingers.

"... Well, originally I was summoned hundreds of years ago, but only half of me showed up. That was the First Emperor, but even though we're both half of the Yorae Dragon I don't remember any of that."

He pauses for a moment, before continuing.

"But if you mean 'me' as my own person... I've been here... I think a month and a half? And I don't remember anything before Nina found me in the desert, which was I think maybe two months before I showed up here. So... that old."

Thanks for encouraging him to smoke more, Ryu. He had been meaning to and such fodder is fantastic for his slowly budding addiction.

He is finished with this entire bastion. Done. Just done.

"Well if you're that... relatively young, then it's only natural that a lot of things don't quite make sense yet."

"Yeah... I guess. Nina was helping teach me some things, like reading and writing, but we didn't have a whole lot of time while we were traveling. We never stayed in one place for long." Reading is hard. It's hard to learn and no one understands.

"Well... have you thought about having someone teach you here? I'm not certain about heavy questions like the one you first asked me, but reading, writing... Things like that I'm certain someone can teach you about." He... won't exactly volunteer himself, but that's more because he doesn't want to make any decisions while he's been smoking his pipe for a while.

"Time is something we seem to have in abundance here."

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I laughed way too hard at that sldkfjsdf

8>

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