I don't know if I'm that important, but thanks for the compliment. [Sorey stands and rests a hand on Maglor's shoulder.] Don't worry too much about Mikleo. And...I hope that you and your family can find some semblance of peace here.
He is. [ Maglor says, and shakes his head with a soft laugh ]
Oh no! Master Frodo is a hobbit - a halfling, we would say, for they stand no taller than about half my height. He would insist he did nothing special, but Master Samwise and he, they carried the Enemy's Ring right into his lands, under his very nose, and destroyed it there where it was made, in the only place that could unmake all the enchantments laid upon it. And is so doing they robbed the Enemy of all his power and unmade HIM as well.
Do you mean the same enemy you and your family were fighting against all those years? He got right of that same enemy? [Because if that's so, then it means Maglor has a peaceful home to return to, and not the horrendous mess Sorey was afraid of.]
Sauron was Morgoth's lieutenant, so you can think of him as a shadow, an echo, a reflection of his Master. He was cleverer, by far - a schemer, and a lier. But Morgoth was by far the more powerful, and more brutal. Sauron is gone, and I think it will be many Ages of the world before he rises again, and Morgoth the same, but they are both Ainur - beings a bit like Sorey, I think? They cannot be slain, for they are a part of the very fabric of the world itself.
[ Softly ] Indeed, the wise have long theorised that Morgoth so inefected our world that the only way to truly defeat him would be to destroy the world itself...
[Sorey isn't sure if he specifically is all as important as Maglor claims, but he does know about the Shepherd legend, as well as the Lord of Calamity. Beings that always seem to rise again in history in pairs.]
...that sounds like malevolence.
[Sorey sinks down onto his seat, elbows on his knees.] Our world's lost a lot of its written history, but malevolence has been around for as long as even the oldest seraphim can remember. Maybe that's like our Morgoth; a sickness of the world that can only ever be treated, but never cured.
Maybe. [ he says softly, sadness threaded with steel ] My folk call it the Long Defeat, and yet we oppose it at every turn. No reason to give it more a foothold than it has already.
Maybe someday in the future, they'll have Morgoth contained. [Sorey shifts his weight.] ...I don't know if it means much to you, since I can only speak as a human being, but in my world the Shepherd legend is about people who take up the title again and again against the fight of darkness. It's never completely defeated, but there are times of peace.
I think maybe those moments of peace are worth the fighting, even if sometimes the battle seems endless.
Oh, he is - at least, as much as is possible. The Powers of the World threw him out beyond the Doors of Night at the end of the First Age. He can no longer actively influence our world. But his poison runs deep, for he was one of our world's builders, you see.
[ A smile ]
Good. That is good. And you are correct - on such foundations is Hope founded, that day will always follow night.
[This might be a good opportunity to try and explain it in a relatable way, okay,] Malevolence is like that too. It's intrinsic to the structure of our world, but it's completely toxic. ...that's why Mikleo and I were so against the branding. Things like that invite poison, where we're from. We've seen it happen here, too.
[What happened on the planet is such a complicated mess that Sorey is still trying to sort it out himself, but...] I...think so, maybe. Not because we felt dismissed or disrespected- well, no, Mikleo feels that way, but for me it was more like...
[Sorey folds his arms and frowns thoughtfully. How to put this...] Back home, and here too, I've sworn to do everything I can to prevent these things from happening. I'm...not on particularly steady ground after what I did and my inability to convince you or your family feels like a huge failure on my part.
Ah- [Holds out a hand,] not that that's your problem, I'm not looking for an apology. I'm just trying to make my feelings clear.
You could not help it. [ Maglor says gently ] That is what I was told. I am sorry that you feel so - please do not! We are old, and more than a little mad, maybe, and very set in our ways. You could have commanded us, and I might have yielded, but we have been lords and kings and we do not yield easily to others. That is not your fault, but ours, and I am sorry that we have hurt you so.
Mikleo and I really don't put a lot of stock into the ranking thing; he didn't ask to be Captain, and I only took up First Mate so he wouldn't be doing this himself. It's not really- there's no real power involved in it. [They've literally never been in positions of power before this recent Shepherd's journey, and nowhere near a military authority structure.] Honestly, just the idea of people agreeing with me because they think they have to kinda makes my skin crawl.
Mikleo has expressed similarly. But Sorey - we are kings and lords, yes, but we are Captains and Commanders, also. We know, intimately, the structures of authority that will carry an army through a war. If you have to wrangle us again - do not be afraid to order. We do not have to obey. But authority we know, even if only assumed here. If you do not command, we will walk around you. But if you order, and you mean it... I can convince the others. There is no time for reasoned argument in war, Sorey.
[Sorey frowns, folding his arms in thought; he doesn't like it, doesn't like the implication that he must order Maglor in order to see any kind of change, but that Maglor's telling him this...is it more a compromise this way than just standing around arguing? Would this be the kinder choice?]
...it really would help you if I acted like a proper First Mate during disagreements?
Not always. But... in battle, if you want us to listen now ... then yes. You do have the authority - not just given by Atroma, but acknowledged by me, at least - and the others will heed me. [ Manipulating Maedhros is not easy, but Maglor has been wrangling his brother for millenia, after all ] If you think we cross the line, use it. It is highly unlikely that any of us will heed, otherwise. You can explain later, as you are doing now - but in battle, that could wind up with people dead. Even if you command... I cannot promise obedience, but you have a far, far better chance.
Agghh... [Sorey really, really hates it, and almost every single thing that just came out of Maglor's mouth.] F...fine. If I think it's something that's going to specifically harm you or us or the crew, I'll...I'll try. My best. [He really is not good at being authoritative but he'll try.]
No- it's alright. It's not your responsibility to come up with something to make me happy. [Sorey shakes his head, rubbing the back of his neck.] I'll work on it. And I'll talk to Mikleo on your behalf, too.
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Date: 2017-02-16 12:28 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2017-02-16 05:21 am (UTC)Your world is very fortunate to have you.
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Date: 2017-02-17 03:31 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2017-02-17 08:21 am (UTC)But a light so bright as yours, a soul so generous - that is rare, and precious. Thank you very much, Sorey. You really do remind me of Master Frodo.
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Date: 2017-02-18 05:44 am (UTC)Is this Master Frodo a friend of yours?
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Date: 2017-02-18 11:00 am (UTC)No - but all who live in my time know his name, for he was the saviour of us all.
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Date: 2017-02-21 01:44 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2017-02-21 02:57 am (UTC)Oh no! Master Frodo is a hobbit - a halfling, we would say, for they stand no taller than about half my height. He would insist he did nothing special, but Master Samwise and he, they carried the Enemy's Ring right into his lands, under his very nose, and destroyed it there where it was made, in the only place that could unmake all the enchantments laid upon it. And is so doing they robbed the Enemy of all his power and unmade HIM as well.
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Date: 2017-02-23 07:11 am (UTC)Do you mean the same enemy you and your family were fighting against all those years? He got right of that same enemy? [Because if that's so, then it means Maglor has a peaceful home to return to, and not the horrendous mess Sorey was afraid of.]
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Date: 2017-02-23 07:48 am (UTC)Sauron was Morgoth's lieutenant, so you can think of him as a shadow, an echo, a reflection of his Master. He was cleverer, by far - a schemer, and a lier. But Morgoth was by far the more powerful, and more brutal. Sauron is gone, and I think it will be many Ages of the world before he rises again, and Morgoth the same, but they are both Ainur - beings a bit like Sorey, I think? They cannot be slain, for they are a part of the very fabric of the world itself.
[ Softly ] Indeed, the wise have long theorised that Morgoth so inefected our world that the only way to truly defeat him would be to destroy the world itself...
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Date: 2017-02-24 04:08 am (UTC)...that sounds like malevolence.
[Sorey sinks down onto his seat, elbows on his knees.] Our world's lost a lot of its written history, but malevolence has been around for as long as even the oldest seraphim can remember. Maybe that's like our Morgoth; a sickness of the world that can only ever be treated, but never cured.
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Date: 2017-02-27 05:12 am (UTC)Maybe. [ he says softly, sadness threaded with steel ] My folk call it the Long Defeat, and yet we oppose it at every turn. No reason to give it more a foothold than it has already.
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Date: 2017-02-28 04:35 am (UTC)I think maybe those moments of peace are worth the fighting, even if sometimes the battle seems endless.
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Date: 2017-03-01 06:47 am (UTC)[ A smile ]
Good. That is good. And you are correct - on such foundations is Hope founded, that day will always follow night.
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Date: 2017-03-03 02:29 am (UTC)Do you see what I'm saying?
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Date: 2017-03-03 07:31 am (UTC)I see. That is why you were worried? Is that what happened? [ That time on the planet ] Did we hurt you?
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Date: 2017-03-06 04:54 pm (UTC)[Sorey folds his arms and frowns thoughtfully. How to put this...] Back home, and here too, I've sworn to do everything I can to prevent these things from happening. I'm...not on particularly steady ground after what I did and my inability to convince you or your family feels like a huge failure on my part.
Ah- [Holds out a hand,] not that that's your problem, I'm not looking for an apology. I'm just trying to make my feelings clear.
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Date: 2017-03-07 07:02 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2017-03-09 06:06 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2017-03-09 06:41 am (UTC)Mikleo has expressed similarly. But Sorey - we are kings and lords, yes, but we are Captains and Commanders, also. We know, intimately, the structures of authority that will carry an army through a war. If you have to wrangle us again - do not be afraid to order. We do not have to obey. But authority we know, even if only assumed here. If you do not command, we will walk around you. But if you order, and you mean it... I can convince the others. There is no time for reasoned argument in war, Sorey.
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Date: 2017-03-13 06:59 am (UTC)...it really would help you if I acted like a proper First Mate during disagreements?
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Date: 2017-03-13 10:34 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2017-03-15 06:24 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2017-03-15 07:28 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2017-03-16 04:38 am (UTC)(no subject)
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