Sigma/Star

Chapter 84: Perception

Grimsley sat for a bit, processing everything that had been said, running it through his head over and over again. He would begin to nod then shake his head, going back and forth between decisions and understandings. Goulet finally sighed, taking his pipe out to refill it with his personal collection of herbs. "Like I said before, the Jahari do not give us much respect or credit. They hate humans, all of them, and care little about our borders or our beliefs. Their only goal is to make things burn. That sounds like fire to me."

The hawk dove downwards through the air, skimming along the grass before snatching a mouse and shooting straight back up. It was extremely rare to see wildlife in the world. Even as a boy who had grown up in a farming town, animals were a novelty that Grimsley had rarely experienced. "Why do the religions matter to the elements, Goulet?"

Goulet shrugged in response, sucking on his pipe some more. "Religion is such a curious thing. Perception is all that matters in this world Grimsley, remember that. What I see, how I see it, and what I have been told, shape my understanding of this world. To a normal soldier, perhaps I would look at you as an Enian enemy, someone I must kill immediately due to orders. Or, if I knew about the recent alliance against the Jahari, I would see you as a comrade, a fellow warrior in this crusade against inhuman monsters. Or perhaps I wouldn't see them as inhuman monsters, but simply as an aberration, of humans who have changed and grown on their own. Maybe I would see everyone that way and would refuse to kill. Perhaps I would believe that only those given divine right have the authority to murder others. Which one is it?"

Grimsley scratched his head, his brain swollen from information and pounding. "That...doesn't really answer my question."

"Let's take your country as our example." Goulet began to scribble in the dirt with his finger, drawing up borderlines for nations. "Do you know how it was formed?"

"Refugees from the French Empire after Ishiyama was executed in place of the prince." Grimsley could recite the history of Enianism without thinking twice about it. His aunt had been in the choir of the local church back in Easley and he had been through a thousand lectures on the religion.

"Good, good, that is what you were taught. That's good." Goulet drew furiously on the ground, recreating the French Empire. "Where did you learn about that?"

"Well that's the fundamentals of Enianism, in the Book of Ishiyama."

"Who wrote that book?"

"Saint Enia."

"Is Saint Enia a reputable scholar and historical source?" Goulet looked up from his work and smiled at a baffled Grimsley.

"What does that mean?"

"What I mean is how much do you actually know about Enia? Or about Ishiyama? You know the times they were alive, humans were very good at keeping track of history, largely in digital formats and sometimes in print. There are records of those people existing and of lots of things happening involving them, none of which come from that holy book of yours." Grimsley had never felt a great attachment to Enianism. It had always sort of been there in his life, floating around in the background. While he would never have claimed to be the most devout believer, he certainly wasn't opposed to the faith. But listening to Goulet was pulling at his heart, at his mind. It made him almost...angry, a bit furious at someone to pretentiously call into question the beliefs of an entire nation.

"Your version of the story," Goulet went on, "involves Ishiyama as a slave who caused a lot of problems, was drafted to war, refused to fight, and then put himself up for execution. I'm not saying that story is not true. Maybe it is, maybe it isn't. How you understand that story changes how you look at history, and, in turn, at the present day. Considering that the Artisan Confederate is formed of the remnants of the French Empire, you'd think the two nations would never get along, but for some reason we can ally ourselves on a whim to fight against other nations." Goulet shook his head at the stupidity he perceived in the world. "I have a different version of events, one that shows up in historical records and documents and government files. Care to learn?"