[He offers her a wry half-smile, quirked to one side, but it falters and doesn't last.]
Though I am loathe to speak in defense of the Archadian Empire, having been born into it, I can attest that not all who hail from such places are meant to be conquerors. There are people who do their best to live good lives there, as I am sure there are in your own Garlean Empire, as well, but what you saw—
[He gestures broadly with an open hand.]
That was the Archades I was most familiar with, for better or for worse.
[Largely, he feels, for worse.]
I left not long after that day. There was nothing worth staying for. I told myself I left in search of answers, but that was a falsehood, an attempt to trick myself into believing my goals had some merit. I ran, though one can never truly run far enough to escape something so persistent as the past.
no subject
[He offers her a wry half-smile, quirked to one side, but it falters and doesn't last.]
Though I am loathe to speak in defense of the Archadian Empire, having been born into it, I can attest that not all who hail from such places are meant to be conquerors. There are people who do their best to live good lives there, as I am sure there are in your own Garlean Empire, as well, but what you saw—
[He gestures broadly with an open hand.]
That was the Archades I was most familiar with, for better or for worse.
[Largely, he feels, for worse.]
I left not long after that day. There was nothing worth staying for. I told myself I left in search of answers, but that was a falsehood, an attempt to trick myself into believing my goals had some merit. I ran, though one can never truly run far enough to escape something so persistent as the past.