Knights of Tezoth

— I'm very glad you're here, — Stefania concluded.

Before deciding whether to go to the next colleague, the girl said she needed to find out how the other Knights were doing.

— Are there any thoughts you'd like to share with me? Or maybe you'd like to come with me to see how the others are doing?

- Thoughts... Stefania, what do you think — is the ambition and craving that lives in the human heart good or bad for individuals and society, or not really? In a sense, it's precisely because of this that we ended up here, but on the other hand, it seems this is exactly what lies at the foundation of everything we have now.

— Well... if you look at it from the perspective of those who could be harmed by others' ambitions, I suppose someone might say it's bad. For each individual, everything that forcibly drags them out of their comfort zone, deprives them of something, or makes them do what they categorically don't want to do is bad. If you look at the question more globally, essentially all progress stands on someone's ambitions and craving for something. Take, for example, Eidos the Iron. Without his ambitions and desire to unite Tezoth for its protection, everything would have turned out quite differently. Who knows, maybe without that, a fragmented Tezoth would have long since been devoured by the monsters of regret. Do we need that? Nope.

- Without ambition, we'd still be living in caves, and someone would have had to step out of their comfort zone to get out of those too! Though I'm not sure whether people ever lived in caves or settled straight into cities? I don't remember what the historians of Cortina and the theologians of Osha say about that.

- But be that as it may, progress is great, no, even wonderful! But craving and ambition need to be pure, not selfish. Can you imagine, not long ago I had a dream in which some influential man, because of his love for a woman, exposed thousands of people to great danger — that's exactly the kind of thing one must never do! We need to think bigger! For Gildaria! For Lord Adalard! Long live His Radiance!
The unexpected guest who unceremoniously barged into the conversation of the two girls was the Knight of Unwavering Courage, Dalias Galiot. As his title suggests, he was known for his bravery, but not his wits.
- Hmm! I hope I'm not interrupting you two? Because after the young lord, all sorts of thoughts creep into one's head at the sight of such a scene.

— I'd say the deeds of your dream's hero are truly terrible and inexcusable. I hope his head exploded like an overripe watermelon before he woke up. I also believe that behind any large-scale actions there should be a motivation to make people's lives better. And in this context, I'm talking about the people of Tezoth, not some small separate group of selfish individuals.

Noticing the arrival of the Knight of Unwavering Courage, Stefania gave the young man a hug and answered his question:

— Oh, not at all, you're not interrupting! On the contrary, you'll be the third! — her intentions were honest, and she meant their philosophical conversation with Silvatika.

- I've never tried watermelons, but I'd like to believe that such people can't be found anywhere in all of Tezoth, otherwise that would be truly sad! Though there's already the Blooddrinker, and that's no better. - Having received permission, the newly arrived Knight settles in more comfortably. - Thank you for the invitation! So, my lady, to make people's lives better, we need to make sure that His Strategicity's campaign ends in success, so we'll quickly capture Izkazan, return to Tezoth, and everything will come full circle. How does that plan sound to you?

— The plan sounds good in words, but there are a few nuances. First, we have no idea how strong the inhabitants of Izkazan are. What if there are such powerful annihilators living here that can kill with a single glance? Not to mention the number of enemy troops. Second, we have no idea which part of Izkazan we're in and how advantageous our position is. Third, even if we ourselves turn out to be annihilators by local standards and can easily take the reins of rule through brute force or soft diplomacy, what guarantee is there that we'll find a way out at all?

Worries about the latter weighed on the Knight of Wind, against the backdrop of her fear that she might never see her family members again.