I've been trapped here in Raksang for... longer than I can recall, ever since the seal was placed over the entrance.

Oh, no, I'm not asking for rescue. I'm still learning quite a bit down here. And not just about the Balaur.

Hiding out in this obscure location has given me a lot of time to contemplate my role in the universe.

Player: "Come to any conclusions?"

As a matter of fact, I have.

I've been considering a concept that I understand the Asmodians believe in very strongly: fate.

I never really believed in it before.... Actually, that's not so. I just never thought about it before.

Player: "And now that you have?"

I think I've come to a better understanding of how fate works, and how it affects the world we live in.

I also think I'm able to actually read fate, based on a person's previous actions and current beliefs.

I've used this process on myself, which is one reason I do not fear my future. What about you? Care to give it a try?

Player: Accept.

Yes, I realize this is hardly an ideal place to be fortune telling, but I don't have much choice right now.

Actually, I wouldn't call what I do "fortune telling." It's more like... Well, it's hard to explain.

Give me a moment to meditate and prepare myself. I suggest you do the same. Speak to me when you are ready.

Player: "I will."

Ah, you're ready to begin? Good, so am I.

As I said, my readings are based on your past and present. Thus, I will ask you questions to get a better sense of it.

My first question: What elemental force best describes your drive to protect Atreia?

Player: "Fire, hot with passion that destroys evil."

Ah, fire.... To walk through flame is to subject oneself to great ordeals.

Knowing that, we walk through nonetheless, in hopes of tempering our resolve and character.

Tell me, what do you hope to gain through your courage?

Player: "Honor."

Ah, water.... The cool touch that can weary even the greatest mountains.

Just as the ocean erodes the land, so does our patience chip away at obstacles that seem insurmountable.

Tell me, why do you persist when all seems hopeless?

Player: "I endure for love."

Ah, but honor can only come when those above you grant it, and those around you recognize it.

Daevas are still Human, and Humans are disparate and fallible. What if your superiors go down a path you think leads only to ruin?

Will you do what you think is right, or will you follow those you have sworn to obey?

Player: "I will follow my heart."

Ah, but understanding of what? There are far more questions in life than answers.

Some seek answers in cold, hard fact. Others seek it in the infinite unknowns of philosophy.

What sort of understanding do you seek?

Player: "The immutable fact."

Ah, but love is as fickle and undefinable an emotion as there is. It takes many different forms.

The compassion felt for family and friend, for example. Or the heated ardor felt for lover or nation.

Which do you think drives the greatest deeds?

Player: >"Noble compassion."

Ah, but what is the truth? Humanity has tried for its entire existence to find it, only to fail.

Much of the difficulty lies in the very definition of truth.

Is it something objective, an immutable fact? Or does it change with time, circumstance, or individual outlook?

Player: "Truth is absolute."

I see your heart. You value passion and the Human ability to pursue our dreams.

You cannot stand to see drive stifled by inequality or societal disapproval.

Daevas like you allow others to live the way they wish to live.

Player: "Thank you."

I see your heart. You believe in honor as a defining force in life.

Honor brings structure that supports all, yet knowing that structure allows you to bend it to your will, if absolutely needed.

Daevas like you can be depended on to bring greatness to our allies, but shame to our foes.

Player: "Thank you."

I see your heart. You are an intellectual, driven by an overriding need to know.

You go wherever your mind takes you, feeding on knowledge, comforted in the integrity of objective logic.

Daevas like you ever expand our horizons, bringing us power in the form of enlightenment.

Player: "Thank you."

I see your heart. You are driven to understand the people around you, and how they think.

You understand that life itself is a great unknown, shaped by the self-images people put up to others, and to themselves.

Daevas like you clarify the bonds between individuals, allowing us to draw together under our own commonalities.

Player: "Thank you."

I see your heart. You are driven by boundless compassion for your fellow beings.

You burn with the desire for all to live free, and cannot stand to see the soul's desire smothered without reason.

Daevas like you have hearts as big as the Abyss, and all are comforted by your presence.

Player: "Thank you."

I can see your heart. You are driven by a hot fervor for your people, both in general and in particular.

You know that such passion is what makes life worth living, and that such emotions are as real as any physical object.

Daevas like you keep morale high, and love for Atreia strong in all hearts.

Player: "Thank you."

I can see your heart. You believe in a single absolute truth which must in the end prevail.

You believe there is but one path to righteousness, and that no obstacle must lie in the path of those walking it.

Daevas like you keep us all focused and unified, strong in our status as Aion's champions.

Player: "Thank you."

I can see your heart. You know that truth is subjective, and therefore seek to understand what others believe.

You know that life can shape individuals in many different ways, and that knowing what they see is key to bringing them together.

Daevas like you unite the disparate masses under Aion, and show us that despite our differences, we are still one people.

Player: "Thank you."

Then I have one final question for you that will help me determine your fate.

If the state and the people are in disagreement, which should prevail?

Player: "The state."

Then I have one final question for you that will help me determine your fate.

Which do you think supports the world: the sky or the earth?

Player: "The sky."

Then I have one final question for you that will help me determine your fate.

Which environment is better for Humanity: the city or the countryside?

Player: "The city."

Then I have one final question for you that will help me determine your fate.

Which kind of dreams are more valuable: those you have when asleep, or those you have when awake?

Player: "The dreams I have when asleep."

Then you understand that in order for society to function, there must be some kind of common guiding hand.

To do otherwise is to invite chaos, in which the strong dominate the weak. In other words, what the Balaur seek.

I have something for you which will help guide you towards the path fate has chosen.

Player: "What is it?"

Then you understand that to suppress the individual's will renders society meaningless.

You recoil at tyranny, and know that there is a difference between anarchy and liberty.

I have something for you which will help guide you towards the path fate has chosen.

Player: "What is it?"

Then your affinity lies with the endless possibilities and ever-changing face above us.

In it, you see potential, growth, and a limitless canvas on which we can paint.

I have something for you which will help guide you towards the path fate has chosen.

Player: "What is it?"

Then your affinity lies with the solid foundation and fertile soil from which all life sprang.

In it, you see potential, growth, and a limitless canvas on which we can paint.

I have something for you which will help guide you towards the path fate has chosen.

Player: "What is it?"

So you see the value in the structure placed upon us by civilization.

You see how it brought us from ignorance to enlightenment, and how it binds us together in an edifice that must never crumble.

I have something for you which will help guide you towards the path fate has chosen.

Player: "What is it?"

So you see the value in the wilderness afforded to those in the countryside.

You see how it provides constant new frontiers to explore and savor, reflecting the promise of the Human spirit.

I have something for you which will help guide you towards the path fate has chosen.

Player: "What is it?"

Perfect. The dreams we have when asleep speak truths, even when its events never actually happened.

They tell us how to look beyond our physical vision, and how to find meaning even in the seemingly meaningless.

I have something for you which will help guide you towards the path fate has chosen.

Player: "What is it?"

Perfect. Our waking dreams give us something to strive for, a true reflection of the ambitions that make life worth living.

They define our goals, our beliefs, our very souls. They are the backbone of how we shape the world, and vice versa.

I have something for you which will help guide you towards the path fate has chosen.

Player: "What is it?"

This. I hope you will use it in good health, and the good of all Atreia.

Yours is a grand fate, one that will propel us all towards great things. Be sure to do what you must to make it happen.

Don't worry about me--as I said I know, and am comforted by, my own fate. Thank you for listening to me.
This. I hope you will use it in good health, and the good of all Atreia.

Yours is a grand fate, one that will propel us all towards great things. Be sure to do what you must to make it happen.

Don't worry about me--as I said I know, and am comforted by, my own fate. Thank you for listening to me.
This. I hope you will use it in good health, and the good of all Atreia.

Yours is a grand fate, one that will propel us all towards great things. Be sure to do what you must to make it happen.

Don't worry about me--as I said I know, and am comforted by, my own fate. Thank you for listening to me.
This. I hope you will use it in good health, and the good of all Atreia.

Yours is a grand fate, one that will propel us all towards great things. Be sure to do what you must to make it happen.

Don't worry about me--as I said, I know, and am comforted by, my own fate. Thank you for listening to me.