What's the Point of Fighting!?

"Ugh..." I groaned, massaging my neck as we exited the arena. Ynwe hadn't gone all-out on me, but he still had made numerous clean hits. "Marigold... please."

"Yeah, yeah," she mumbled, clearly not much better off than me. She cast a healing spell, and the pain was drawn away.

"How do the other knights deal with all this without magic?" I said.

"They aren't human," said Marigold. "I guess they're probably sturdier than us."

"Maybe, or it may just be strength of mind. The people of this world seem accustomed to fighting. Even before the birth of our world, the gods were waging war."

Marigold shook her head. "It's horrible. What's the point of fighting? They call us lesser beings, but we have peace. What do they have?"

I clenched my fist, recalling the intense strength I held when controlling Alithet. "They have power... I wonder—is it power itself that leads to conflict? When one possesses power, one surely wishes to exercise it."

"Fighting... just because you can, you mean? That's stupid."

I chuckled. "You're right. They must have a good reason for it! Battle without pretense lacks glory—and how could they rally their troops without a proper cause? We'll have to ask Ynwe."

"I don't understand why Kabhathea doesn't just tell us this stuff herself. She's supposed to be teaching us or whatever."

"She frustrates me as well. Although, seeing how much Ynwe and Far respect her, I wonder if there's something more to her that we have yet to see. Like this world, its people offer many mysteries..."

Marigold stared up at me blankly. "You know, it's like that in our world, too." I wasn't convinced.

*  *  *

The barracks were alive with conversation. Our fellow knights, given their free time, were want to congregate, roughhouse, joke, and posture to each other. The scenes that played out around me were quite like those I once imagined in the old tavern of my hometown, and it was at once exciting and frightening to hear talk of battle, and of dismemberment, disembowelment, and other heinous acts. I was interested in speaking to the others, but I was intimidated, and of course there remained in my mind worries that Marigold and I might be bullied or even attacked, either for our different appearance or poor performance. At least there was some privacy in the barracks, which was nice—each soldier's bed was separated by a curtain. Still, it was hard not to be paranoid, and sleeping was especially nerve-wracking, but with the exception of the Commander, no one had yet shown any animosity towards us, and so gradually my anxieties faded.

Some few hours before the sanctioned bedtime, I was lying down pondering my thoughts when my curtain was pushed aside.

"Ynwe!" I said cordially.

He greeted me in turn with a bow, and I called out to Marigold, who appeared from the next partition over wearing her witch getup, which Ynwe seemed intrigued by. We found Far as well and made our way to a balcony that overlooked the Capital for our little meeting. It was a secluded spot, and we weren't likely to be overheard, which was necessary if we were to discuss anything to do with Ariel.

Ynwe asked the first question. "You two are from the world of Ariel's emanation, yes? Please do not take this the wrong way, but I find it strange that you are both so inexperienced. What is that world like?"

Marigold and I explained as well as we could. At certain points, Ynwe would smile or mutter a little "oh?" or "I see," and when we were finished he drew in a long breath, deep in thought.

"A land born of war, now filled only with peace..." he said. "It is nearly unimaginable to me." He glanced at Far, who looked mildly unsettled. "But, I still do not understand. Why now do you fight alongside us?"

"In all honesty, we've been forced into this," I said. "My only goal is to find the truth of the world. By stumbling into this plane, I have made one step in the right direction, but my progress has been hindered by the gods."

"And I just want to go home," said Marigold.

"Still," I continued, "hearing the story of Ariel's betrayal, I can't help but feel some obligation to make right the wrongs of my creator. And, perhaps this path will also lead me to my ultimate goal. Somehow, I feel that it will..."

"It won't," said Ynwe sternly. Far gasped.

"What do you mean?" I said.

Ynwe sighed. "I admire your sense of right, Godwin, and your optimism. Hold fast to that, but know that I have seen the path you speak of. I have seen many, many cycles of war. If what you seek is enlightenment, you will not find it here."

"Ynwe!" Far hissed.

"It is alright," Ynwe said. "They are sharing their knowledge with us; it is only right we do the same."

"But... we can't just run away," said Marigold. There was a hint of hope in her voice, as if she was half-expecting Ynwe to say that we could, but of course he shook his head.

"No. You would be deemed traitors and hunted down. There's no escaping that. No... you will have to fight. I am sorry. I do not have all the answers. Perhaps there is no solution to your problem, but I would like to believe otherwise."

Marigold hung her head. "We really aren't getting out of this anytime soon, are we?"

Hesitantly, I placed a hand on her shoulder. "It-it's alright—"

Suddenly, Marigold threw up her arms, and I swiftly withdrew my hand. "Ugh!" she groaned. "What's this war even about!? It's all anyone talks about in this place, but I still have no idea who or why you guys are fighting in the first place!"

"Keep your voice down," Far said quietly, but I wasn't sure if it was for fear of being overheard or because she simply didn't like loud noises, which seemed plausible considering her large ears were bent inward, almost flattened against her cheeks. I wondered how she could possibly deal with the roar of the battlefield with such sensitivities... maybe earmuffs? Although, imagining how they would fit over those ears was kind of difficult.

"Just as true peace is foreign to us, I can understand how our ways might frustrate you," Ynwe said. "War is a constant. It is a given part of our existence. Looking at things holistically, it wouldn't be wrong to say we fight simply because it is what we do. It is natural. But, that is not what you are asking, Marigold. Each Order does have a reason to fight. The Holy Ones from whom we stem—the ones you call 'gods'—long ago, in the first era, they came into being. It is said that originally they all loved one another, and together they shaped this world. But, over time, as the world became more complicated, each of them found that they differed from their brethren. Some differences were small, but some were very great. Ultimately, it was disagreement over the shaping of the world that split the Holy Ones into the three Orders."

"Creative differences, then?" I muttered.

"You could call it that."

Marigold crossed her arms. "But, why not just give each Order their own portion of the world to shape as they see fit?"

"That is what happened, in a way," said Ynwe. "Each Order has its Capital. But, each and every one of us is a part of this world. We cannot stand the thought of it being rendered to the whims of those we deem our enemy. Such a place would become uninhabitable—so sayeth our leaders. Our enemies march on us, so we must march on them to protect ourselves, and so it goes, each Order attacking another in turn, on and on..."

"I don't really get it," said Marigold.

"I do not expect immediate understanding. Ours is a long history—the longest, perhaps. But come, surely you have more questions! Ask away!"