Esvel: Hmm... yeah, you don't see like the raving type. A soirée?
Ralis: I cannot say I have ever been to... one of those.
Esvel: Okay, okay. A ball? A dance party? A frat party? A housewarming party? A banquet? A wedding?
Ralis: I am not familiar with any of the aforementioned terms.
Esvel: Okay, well, I have a chance for you to get familiar, then. See, I'm throwing this fun little mixer in a couple days. It's gonna be great. Everyone'll be there, and I'm gonna bring-- oh. And he's gone.
…Verus. Verus! Greetings! You remember me, I should hope?
Yes, it is I, The Creator! Your patron, your guide! Here to announce the conclusion of our very first trial, yes? Surely you recall my voice.
Yes, good. Of course. You certainly seem considerably more on the ball than you were when we first met! You’ve learned quite a bit about the workings of this place, after all, and the prisoners who reside here. You’ve made decisions about their fates, even! Impressive. Your progress truly is something to behold.
So, Verus… we ought to review your decisions, should we not? All your painstakingly-crafted judgments… Yes, we must! Let us speak on this matter, then.
---
The first prisoner you were tasked with judging was the knight, Renata del Sol. That Cormyrean woman has been doing everything she can to make herself useful, hasn’t she? She was so insistent about the fact that her own murder was more than just a killing… and yet, you chose she be absolved? You didn't hesitate a bit! Despite everything she told you about how she could not forgive herself, it seems as though it was those very repentant words that made you choose to absolve her! Do you think she will be angry? Sad? Perhaps learn to relieve herself from the pressure of blame? Or maybe even your own forgiveness won’t be enough to halt her grief. Perhaps she doesn’t understand that her sin is only between the two of you. She would do well to remember that any third party she may be considering has no power here.
---
Prisoner 002. Ralis Muukar. The gith. Githzerai, to be specific, and so unlike the rest of his kin… but I’m sure that point has been made clear enough. He really did say so much about his crime, didn’t he? While also saying nothing at all! Did that anger you? Is that why you deemed him condemned, close as it was? Or was it because of his stark difference to 001, his words devoid of any feelings of guilt? Hm...
---
Ah, actually, maybe attitude doesn’t matter to you at all. After all, you decided to absolve our third prisoner, and without much hesitation at all! Qibra of Elderport, the city girl! She expressed so much disdain for you… I wasn’t even sure such a small body could hold such resentment! Ahaha, you must excuse me. I find her disposition ever so amusing. I wonder how this verdict will affect that… after all, with all she spoke of nuance, wouldn’t being forgiven be just as bad to her as the opposite?
---
Prisoner 004 will be pleased with Qibra’s verdict, at least. After all, Danzmyr Maeneld did seem to hold an amount of affection for her. He claimed she was a good person… and you not only agreed with that, but decided that he was, as well! With no uncertainty! Did you decide that he was every bit the hero he was said to be? Or was it simply his decision to trust whatever you thought of him that won over your heart? He is a pleasant fellow, no doubt about that…
---
Ah, yes. Samako. The apprentice... she would object to being called that, but quite honestly? Although her mind is sharp, she seems to be lacking in the levels of judgement needed to call oneself a true mage. Handing you a persuasive essay? Did she truly believe you would read it? …Well, I have to say, I actually wasn’t sure. But in the end, you did decide to condemn her without a second thought. Now, would that be different if you had actually read her little paper? I wonder…
---
…ah, and so now we’re halfway finished! How time flies when… well, in any case, we must speak of that cleric! Esvel Elmwood. Peculiar man, isn’t he? I called him a fool, a dangerous fool… and you seem to have agreed! But it certainly wasn’t an easy sell… in fact, your final decision was outrageously close! You even changed your mind in the end there, but it wasn’t enough… ah, and he was but a hair’s breadth from absolution. What went on in your mind when making that decision, I wonder? Was it his flippant attitude? Lack of remorse? Or perhaps you simply found his presence grating…
---
Even then, it isn’t as if this prison has any shortage of people with… difficult personalities. Number seven, for example! Aeana Ignis. Quite upfront about her crime, was she not? She seemed to think it a virtue. Like with Elmwood, it really was rather close… you changed your mind at the end, too. Unfortunate for her, is it not, that you had waved ever so slightly out of her favor? Ahaha, she really did make herself easy to hate, with that twisted logic of hers and whatnot… Almost too easy, really. One would think a skilled performer could more easily win their warden over, no?
---
On the exact opposite side, we do have Araglar, from that little place called Folgnest... sweet child, is he not? Charmed you quite easily into absolution with that sincerity of his… I jest, of course. I’m sure plenty of factors went into your decision! Yes, yes, I may not know what they are, but there’s no doubt that you considered this oh so carefully.
--
…ah, and now we’re nearly finished! Only nine and ten left to go… so let us continue, then! Zarrea. No “Moonstrike,” no “Mavonathlakai,” it seems! I wonder, do you believe that influenced your decision at all? Her noticeable regret? She did not outright request condemnation like the knight, and yet you still decided she was deserving of your forgiveness. I wonder if 007 had a point, then? Surely she knew of Renata’s verdict by then. Is her commitment to “fairness” another play at absolution? I suppose we shall see in due time…
---
And finally, prisoner number ten. Virian Kiirrum, that nature elf… Pleasant man, was he not? He told you that he believed himself to be correct in his crime, and it seems as if you agreed with him… strange, really. He was the first prisoner to be both unabashedly unrepentant and apparently deserving of absolution, too. How will that knowledge affect him? How will he act as time goes on? I truly do wonder.
---
And so, I believe that is all of them, is it not? From the knight to the druid… you were tasked with judging them, and judge them you have! Adequate work. I must say, it is fascinating to see who you’ve decided is deserving of absolution, and who you believe ought to be brought to ruin… ah, did I say “ruin”? Pardon me. Think nothing more of that, in fact! Cast it from your mind! My intention is to ponder your decisions, and nothing more.
Yes, Verus, ponder. Not question. I am but an observer, after all! It is you who has taken the mantle of Warden. And an admirable warden you are…
Go, Verus. I tire, as do you, no doubt. As with my earlier misstep, cast all thoughts of this castle from your mind… You will awaken soon enough, and once again you shall see these prisoners… changed, perhaps? Altered? Your guess holds as much merit as mine.
Goodbye now, Verus. And although the sky outside this place never seems to change… I suppose it would be suitable for me to bid you goodnight.
Esvel: Been feeling kinda off lately… eugh. Gotta snap out of this. Totally ruining the mood right now.
Virian: Esvel? Are you alright?
Esvel: Oh! Viri. Hey. Hi. Yeah, I’m great! Just, um… enjoying a moment of solitude. Because I, y’know… love being alone. So much.
Virian: Ah… of course. I’ll see myself out, then, so you can—
Esvel: No! Don’t. Don’t go.
Virian: …?
Esvel: I, um… just remembered. It’s Deadwinter Day! We used to have this festival back at the temple, where we’d bury blades under fresh flowers conjured by hired druids… Wanna put a little something together?
Virian: Well, as you know, my magic doesn’t work here… but I’ll do anything I can to help, regardless.
*Midwinter, or Deadwinter Day, is one of the five seasonal holidays celebrated across Faerûn. It marks the midpoint of Winter on the Caldendar of Harptos.
The song and video both start out slowly with the strumming of a lute and the opening of a large storybook, which seems to share a title with her MV. The book opens on its own without anyone touching it and seems to have only pictures inside, which come to life as she starts singing. It shows a boy in a set of brilliant armor walking and carrying a sword, seeming very happy with life. (“It’s said that there was once a naive hero / Marching in an epic journey, blindly moving forward / Spurred on by one even more foolish than he.”) The first verse ends with the boy facing up against a group of orc bandits, who seem to have kidnapped a young woman, and the chorus continues its pessimistic lyrics (“Death didn’t cross his mind as he wished for a life of glory / Idiocy compounded to extraordinary folly / “You and me”, lives intertwined / His flame burned bright, he balanced virtue, two souls somehow surviving.”) as he attacks the orcs, freeing the woman and knocking them all out without killing them. The chorus ends and he continues on his journey, now with the woman at his side.
This repeats a few more times with the boy saving various people from various monsters, collecting allies along the way. The lyrics keep telling his story, describing the darkness that he willfully ignored and calling him increasingly contemptuous names (“It was right in front of him, and he turned his head away / A web of lies was spun, it cloaked his vision / One thing was found, another lost, shall the price we paid be told for years to come?”). After the second chorus, the page starts flickering, alternating between the sketchy art style of the storybook and a grainy, realistic one that shows the boy with no armor or allies except for someone in a dark cloak whose face is not revealed but eggs him on, encouraging him to move forward. They continue journeying, dodging various hazards that seem to rip through the book’s pages from the realistic “side”. Each time, the boy manages to evade them with the help of his allies and a good deal of luck, until he reaches a cave in which a large dragon resides. A very short shot in the realistic style shows the hooded figure placing a hand on the boy’s back and pushing forward, just forcefully enough for him to feel it but not enough so to actually move him. Feeling the encouragement, he goes in. The third chorus starts, this time mentioning an actual death (“this was no hero’s death, no blaze of glory / Foolish, brash, a child’s folly / There was no “you or me”, no exchange of lives / Just a flame snuffed out, a broken scale, one lonely soul remaining.”) The switching between the two art styles stops and only focuses on the storybook one as he battles it, but something is wrong this time, with his armor breaking and his allies falling quickly. The dragon completely obliterates the party and storybook-him half-lies on the ground, looking almost the same as his realistic counterpart. The dragon reaches out a claw and slashes him, obscuring him for a second while the art style changes back to the grittier one. Now, there’s just a small boy lying on the ground with a very, very grisly-looking wound in his stomach. The hooded figure stands where the dragon once was, looking down at him and not moving. They’re very bloody but otherwise unscathed. It switches to their POV in the final moments as the boy reaches out to them, looking to be in immense pain. The last lines are sung with no instrumental and seemingly addressed to him alone: “You closed your eyes to the world, and now they shut for one last time / Remain the fool as the world claims your very being, then leave it free to collect the next debt it is owed.”
