RP:Contemplations over Rubble
Part of the Silver Oaths Unrelenting Arc
Frostmaw Arena
Frostmaw's arena lies in shambles, its floor having been ripped apart and torn up during the Gladiator Gauntlet, its stands bearing fissures in the stone from the ferocity of the final round. The corpses of the various beasts involved still litter the arena as bloody pulps, patches of matted fur, and piles of ashes, all half-buried beneath mountains of rubble. Satoshi stands at the entrance, taking it all in with her Frost Giant guard, Tharn, beside her.
The magus sighs. "It will be a bit before this place is ready to see combat again."
"Aramoth feasted well on the combat you offered him."
"You think so?" Satoshi cranes her neck to try and see the expression on Tharn's face.
The Frost Giant nods, face unreadable.
"...do you think they should have graves? They fought bravely." No one had touched the remains of the three exiled Frost Giants, and none had spoken their names. For to speak the name of those exiles who failed their Trial by Combat was worse than licking dirt. They were not granted marked graves. Their spirits would not be permitted that final rest.
"But they did not win. They did not redeem themselves in the eyes of Frostmaw. He spilled the blood of his kin."
"It wasn't intentional, and you know it. You saw what happened."
Everyone saw what happened. They'd seen the agony it wrought on the elder brother, to have beheaded his kin with a poorly aimed swing toward another target.
Tharn is adamant. "His brother's blood is still upon his hands. That is a dishonor Aramoth does not forgive, no matter how much blood you offer him. He knew this. The only act more dishonorable is to slay one's father."
"Huh. Killing your father. Is it so terrible an act?" Satoshi's gaze is distant, thoughtful, as she speaks. The question draws a startled look from the normally impassive Frost Giant.
"You sound as if you've committed this act."
"Hah. No." Only contemplated it. Satoshi shakes her head, bringing herself back to the present. "The match took an unexpected turn at the end."
"Do you think so? I do not."
"Oh?" Again she tries to read Tharn's expression, but his face is lost in the shadows of his helm. "Why is that?"
"They all were exiled for acts of cowardice, and he was the most craven of all. To end your own life instead of fighting on, that is the greatest act of cowardice. A weak soul wasted on a mighty body."
"You consider taking your life cowardice? Hm. I would have thought it'd take great courage to kill yourself. After that, you are at the mercy of the gods, and the mysteries beyond." A thought that has sent shivers down the Ice Eidolon's spine since she was a small child. What awaits souls after death? How would hers weigh, with the countless acts of ill and good she's committed? Where would she go, without a god she's sworn to? Her greatest fear is that she will be left a stray and wandering essence, alone, not able to ever follow her husband when Daedria calls him to rest.
"It takes more courage to face and endure life and its many trials. Only a coward flees to the shadows of death rather than face his enemy's might. He proved himself for what he really was in the end."
A heavy sigh comes from the small kit. "I suppose so."
"You do not sound sure."
"In time. I was not born in Frostmaw like you. There are parts of it I have yet to learn and understand, it is why I keep pushing forward."
The clatter of metal announces Tharn lowering himself to a knee. He still towers over Satoshi like this, and yet the gesture of submission to his petite queen is clear. "And so you prove to not be a coward, Lady Frostmaw, for you're ready to face the unknown and its challenges."
"Aha. I guess you're right, Tharn." Satoshi flashes the guard a grin that he matches after a moment's delay. "You never know where the road will take you, until you walk it, hm~?"