To Kill a Mockingbird

[WuHanXianShi14 0]

The Prince of Laurelin knelt in front of the warmth of his fire. Behind him was a stately lodge house he owned. It was cozy enough in there, but he always preferred to be outdoors, to be among the realm of the Aspects. He was more solemn than usual today, carving out the feathers of arrows meant for war. Yet another war against a host of foes who would see his people destroyed.

 

He received an audience from a Sirame. Someone had been captured and put in the cells. A rebel. Artimec followed the guard across the woodland city streets, into the barracks and down into the dungeons to see not a grizzled enemy soldier but a young woman in a silken blue dress, long auburn hair and sky-tinted eyes.

 

There was defiance in this woman’s gaze, in the way she presented herself to her captor. Artimec let two competing thoughts dance in his mind. Let her go, she’s of no use to us. Kill her. She is one of the enemy.

 

Irritation won out over compassion as the girl had nothing pleasant to say to the Prince from behind her bars. She spoke of injustices against her people, she belittled the struggles of his own. If he could not make her understand the wrongs of choosing the side she did, then there was only one choice to be made. She had to die.

 

“Kneel. It will be over soon enough.”

 

All of his anger, resentment, raw hatred. He saw not a defiant, scared young woman in those blue irises, but the faces that had haunted him for decades. He saw marauding uruks, the rotting visages of ghouls and wraiths, the sneers of mali’aheral and malicious glint in the eyes of the men of the Rose. He could no longer see a child kneeling in that cot in front of him, only the manifestation of all his pain.

 

He was tired. Tired and bitter.

 

 

He tightened his grip around the leather hilt of the blade in his hand, cold steel glimmering. A bronze-plated warrior of the Sirame stood dutifully behind him, guarding his Prince even as he too loathed to see such youth be snuffed of life in such a way.

 

The girl was no longer snide and biting. Fear had taken her although she retained a modicum of dignity. She pleaded to the guard behind her to return her belongings to her family, to inform her loved ones she’d died bravely. Artimec no longer saw in her the hateful, toxic gaze he was so used to seeing in all those who wished to destroy all he had built. Instead, he saw the same fear that had so often taken him during those dark times. His hatred melted away like snow on a warm spring day.

 

 

In place of the anger that moments ago had burned inside him like a bonfire, he felt a degrading hollowness. He felt weak, indecisive. Yet killing the girl would accomplish nothing. He slammed his blade back into its sheathe with an angry grunt, turning away. He couldn’t look her in the eye.

 

“Just remove her from my presence.” he muttered brokenly to the Sirame standing behind him.

 

The girl rose to her feet, she seemed not to believe her luck. She thanked the Prince for his mercy, hesitantly, turning to leave with the guard. She turned before she did, however, to ask what was on everyone’s mind, even Artimec’s: Why?

 

 

Artimec remained in that open cell long after the Sirame had led the girl away, listening to the ever present silence of water dripping from the mossy ceiling. He was not sure if he’d done the smart thing. Would that girl’s father have shown him mercy in a similar situation? Would the dreadlanders he fought with? The orcs? Probably not. Certainly not. But mercy had to start somewhere.

[grimmothy 188]

Illidar sends a bird with a simple note reading "Thank you" to the prince after sobering up a bit.

[AGP 3169]

"Touched not a hair on her head," comments Charles.

[Viochemist 664]

Arya now sits at home. Her thoughts one the grand tree she once wished to visit before a unfortunate event led to another,

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"Shokran, Allah.."

 

 

A moment of quiet though passes through her mind- thunder rolling upon the lands of Vandoria. She thankfully thinks of the Prince, not as a monster, but a rafiqi. A friend that is just hurt and has started healing. 

[Guest]

Kairn perks a brow at the news, somewhat surprised, but not at all displeased. 

[Sky 0]

The Bull Druid watches as one leaves Laurelin gates in tears, and escorted by Sirame.

[Nekkore 641]

"Shoot all the bluejays you want, if you can hit them, but remember it is a sin to kill a mocking bird."

[Ducklingator 795]

The Young 'Ame makes another hungergames refrence.

[Kaelan 1918]

Aelthus Aureon would lean against the gate of the city, shield on his left arm and spear in his right hand, bored as he would watch the woman pass under the steel gate to her freedom.

[WuHanXianShi14 0]

3 hours ago, SuperDuckyGamer said:

The Young 'Ame makes another hungergames refrence.

((That's mockingjay

[Ducklingator 795]

Just now, 吳憾戰士14 said:

((That's mockingjay

 

((Now it isn't.))

[Space 2335]

Aeran agrees, learning on this day to not judge a person based on the colour of their skin.

[WuHanXianShi14 0]

((SuperDuckyGamer 'To Kill a Mockingbird' is a book written by Harper Lee in the 1960s largely centering around an Alabama lawyer and his children. The book centers around racial prejudice mostly, but there are three main story arcs which all come together in the end. The titular phrase 'To Kill a Mockingbird' actually represents the destruction of innocent souls when coming into contact through fanaticism and evil, which is why I thought it was fitting for the title of this post. I also wrote up this long reply because I feel pretentious this morning and want to show I learned something in highschool English))

 

 

[Gallic 1066]

Oliver's anti-authoritarian complex toward Artemic begins easing up a little.

 

"Maybe we can at least get along," he thinks as he probably lies in the grass somewhere, now feeling a tinge of guilt over his vitriolic statements at the last moot.

 

"...But even if he tries to make a change, he still acted like a power-hungry sociopath before."

 

And with that, he makes up his mind. He'll stop being as aggressive toward Artemic, but not forget his discrepancies. He may be some kind of fantasy-universe social justice warrior, but he's not entirely unreasonable. Besides, there are other threats to say mean things about.

 

But alas; If only there was some way for him to even hear about this news in the first place.

[Cave_Creature 467]

Faeinn, in her wartime rancor, wonders if her father will spare any dribbling, weeping enemy of his people just because they're too afraid to face the consequence of rebellion.