In the shadow of his throne.
I'd died and lost my way,
I'd failed to reach my home.
But then to me he came,
And gave to me a blade.
He breathed in me the breath of life,
And sent me on my way.
I dare not question why,
I feared to ask him how.
The only thing he told me,
Is that I served him now.
So from that place I left,
Perhaps never to return.
Until my new life ends,
And the feeling no more burns.
I sometimes wonder what would have become of me, had I taken the other path. If I would have ever had a chance at the life that so many seem to content to live. A family, a small cottage just beyond the city walls, a beautiful view of the sea. These are the things that complete us. These are the things that make the toil, the hunger, the loss, and the sorrow so bearable. This is our purpose, and what we impart to those we bring into the world to take our place as we grow old.
But to some men and women, this is not enough. Is that truly why I set sail for a land unknown? simply to seek more? Or was it to seek something different? Do I even recall? It feels like so long ago.
I remember the Captain, bathed in blood and red. He made a great many promises to us as we signed our loyalty to him, that man. The soul of a lion, with the charm of a rose. That man from Amn, that mover of mountains and speaker of unyielding truth. How we all listened to every word he said, truly believing that the day in which is banner unfurled over the citadel wall was soon coming. But alas, true victory is the most elusive mark of them all...
A great time passed and I only saw and heard of him in shadowy whispers. A name sullied by defeat, but refusing to remain on one knee for long. And surely, as quickly as he had been whisked away by the void, talk of a return began to spread. A man back from the dead, back from a place beyond, and stronger than ever before. I traversed many lands for a time, wondering to myself if I should try and reach out. I still believed that he held something that I needed. A key to a door that even with all my talent, I could not quite unlock. The question then, naturally, became something different.
"Do I have something he could use in trade?"
In the end I think I knew, there was only one way I would ever truly find out. Maybe I should have taken the Diviner's generous offering after all.