Kerr laughed. "You're right, we never hear about how a dog-tired, wounded Ursion* had to limp around the castle for a month recovering from his injuries before he was well enough to marry Pontia. I bet he was ready to sleep for a week after the battle. But the storytellers all make it sound like they had the double wedding the very next day."
The young paladin's face grew serious as Liseth talked. "But that's what makes a hero, isn't it? Doing the though things? Although," he pondered, "I guess in the end it doesn't really matter why they did it. If someone slays a menacing dragon or saves a town from marauding bandits because they like the acclaim rather than just out of the goodness of their hearts, does that make them that different than the dragon-slayer who does it but doesn't like all the attention?" He shrugged uncertainly. "They've both saved the town."
"I mean," he continued, "I guess if you're talking about
virtue, then the second one is more
virtuous. Is that part of heroism? Or are results a part of it too? Maybe the most-important part? Is the person who actually slays the dragon more heroic than the person who dies trying to slay the dragon, but doesn't, and the village is destroyed anyway?"
Kerr grabbed his forehead with both hands before grinning. "It makes my head hurt. But yes, there's a Swallowtail Festival every year. We might even make it back for the next one, depending on how our mission to Magnimar goes. And if we do? It's a date!" His shoulders slumped a little. "But who knows how long it's going to take in Magnimar? This cult sounds pretty serious."
*see message #7 in this thread for the full story, Ursion fans!
link to a message in this game
This message was last edited by the player at 16:25, Mon 14 Aug 2017.