You take the time to consider your words carefully, the thought of striking him down crossing your mind but once before you dismiss it. His distrust was based upon valid reasoning, not a blatant disrespect for the power you possess or the choices you have made so far. Finally, you bring your avatar over to the warrior, settling the mighty ankylosaurus onto the ground beside him. The silence continues to reign in the camp, finally, it's broken when you begin to speak through your avatar. "
Proud warrior, hear me, I was brought forth to protect your people, I exist for no other purpose. If words be inadequate, then observe, where your people were sickened and starving, now they are healthy and fed. You and your fellows have only benefited from my presence here. Do not believe my actions? I came to your aid when you needed it most, healed your injuries and brought you back among your own people, who had feared you were dead."
The warrior pauses, his hand lowering to his side as he listens to your words. His tail giving a slight twitch as the breeze blows past him. Finally, after several minutes of consideration he speaks, his voice calmer than before, his anger dying down and sadness replacing it. "
I saw my brothers fall beside, one after another. Their bodies littering the ground as they begged and pleaded feebly to a god who was no longer answering our pleas. We had followed him for years, worshiped and obeyed him faithfully. Yet...On the day we needed him most, the day we stood against unfathomably odds, hordes of the chaos twisted and chaos born beasts and creatures clawing at our walls, he ignored our pleas and fled. We were slaughtered, we barely managed to hold them off long enough for some of our tribe to escape. Countless numbers of the Sud'kar fell that day, their only failing....That they had chosen to believe in a god that had failed them...Why? Why should we place this trust into you?"
You listen to his words, you can feel the sorrow and pain laced within his words. You can see the flashes in his mind as he relives that day. The memories flowing past your eyes as you relive the battle he spoke of. You can hear the cries and screams of the fallen, the tearful, desperate begging and pleading words. The smoke and burning flesh in the air singing your nostrils. Everywhere, you see your friends, your family, your loved ones dropping to the ground, their bodies mutilated and torn. Ravaged by disease, only, to watch in horror as they twist and become chaotic masses of deathly blobs, limbs jutting out from their body and hanging at odd angles. You feel all the loss the solider has felt. You can feel the hollowness, the emptiness he holds inside of himself. Along with the great, intense sadness he holds within himself. You feel that the only reason the warrior has not given up on life itself was the oath he took to protect his people. The intense pride he places on that oath.
You remain silent for several long moments, your mind processing all the events and feelings you saw and felt through the warrior's mind. You find yourself understanding for the first time, the enormity of the trust that the tribesmen of the Sud'kar had placed in your hands. You find yourself feeling closer to the tribesmen of the Sud'kar. Your torn from your thoughts as you begin to speak once more, "
I can understand your fears proud warrior, In the world where the Chaos God is a ever powerful threat to the Sud'kar, there's no certainty, but that off death. For Chaos is the embodiment of uncertainty, of doubt, of fear, and ultimately of betrayal. Your former patron succumbed to the Chaos, and has been erased from this world. Yet still, his ghost still troubles you, and his fear has become yours. Will you follow in his footsteps?"
The lizardmen listens intently. Shifting slightly as nearly ten minutes pass before he speaks, his eyes seeming to stare into yours for the first time, though you know that he can not see you. "
I can put aside my fears Seklus...I will put them aside for the good of the Sud'kar. I will follow you...but tell me Seklus, Can you truly fight for the Sud'kar? Or...Will you abandon us like the one before you had? Can you swear to that upon your honor?"
Sjamn'd clicks quietly to get your attention, his voice soft as he whispers so only you will hear his words. "
Forgive my intrusion great one...but you should know, The Sud'kar place a very high value upon one's honor. To break such a vow that you have sworn in front of the entire tribe, it would have disastrous consequences on how your followers view you..."
At his words, you can feel a ancient power fill the camp. It feels old....as old as the swamps and the lands around you. You feel as though it is listening, waiting to hear your next words. A inner instinct flares, somehow, you feel that if you agree to his words and swear it, that it will be binding. And such bindings can never be broken without consequences...
Roleplaying Sequence part two! How do you respond?Contracts are when a god makes a agreement with a mortal. Such things are ancient, and binding Usually, something is offered in exchange for something the god can give. When made, it is only broken by the death of one of the parties. To break such a binding usually causes a hefty penalty to the god. In this case, a severe lost of trust with your followers and a very hefty energy loss. A natural death or death that does not violate a contract's bindings disband the contract with no consequences.