[ Nikolai nods; he understands Astarion's meaning. He might not know the specifics, but he is very aware of how the conditions of a place - its social hierarchy, its economic structures, its culture and religious institutions - could act as a catalyst for suffering. He'd grown up seeing it in action in Ravka; he's spent his entire adult life trying to find ways to change those conditions. It would never eliminate evil men like Cazador, he knows, but hopefully he could make it at least a little harder for them to flourish. ]
Maybe you weren't before. But how many people from Baldur's Gate can say that they've visited a whole other world? You've probably traveled further than the rest of all of them combined, now.
[ Nikolai matches the wry smile, because of course none of them had chosen to travel here, and how could the distance they've gone from their homelands even be measured? ]
Well, there are stories of a handful, but only one I've ever seen with my own two eyes. Rusalye. The sea whip.
[ Nikolai allows himself a dramatic pause here, the corner of his mouth curved into a smile. He can't help but feel a certain rosy nostalgia, thinking back to hunting the beast. In terms of years, it wasn't even that long ago, but he'd been a different person, then. Younger, more daring, more naive, more hopeful. ]
It was a gigantic white serpent that lived in the waters of the Bone Road, a cluster of small islands far to the north of Ravka. The folktales said it was a prince who had been cursed to live in the body of a monster.
[ Somehow, his brain never made the connection until now. Nikolai can't help it: he laughs. ]
[ He shakes his head sadly, as if he were not himself a king cursed to transform into a terrifying monster every night. Somewhere in the universe, he thinks, Zoya would be rolling her eyes at him. ]
The stories said that it lured girls out to the water with its song and then dragged them under the waves to be its bride, only to wail and weep when they starved to death. But I have to say, having seen the thing up close myself, it wasn't about to seduce anyone. It was just an animal. A dangerous, powerful wild animal with about seven rows of teeth and a foul temper.
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Maybe you weren't before. But how many people from Baldur's Gate can say that they've visited a whole other world? You've probably traveled further than the rest of all of them combined, now.
[ Nikolai matches the wry smile, because of course none of them had chosen to travel here, and how could the distance they've gone from their homelands even be measured? ]
Well, there are stories of a handful, but only one I've ever seen with my own two eyes. Rusalye. The sea whip.
[ Nikolai allows himself a dramatic pause here, the corner of his mouth curved into a smile. He can't help but feel a certain rosy nostalgia, thinking back to hunting the beast. In terms of years, it wasn't even that long ago, but he'd been a different person, then. Younger, more daring, more naive, more hopeful. ]
It was a gigantic white serpent that lived in the waters of the Bone Road, a cluster of small islands far to the north of Ravka. The folktales said it was a prince who had been cursed to live in the body of a monster.
[ Somehow, his brain never made the connection until now. Nikolai can't help it: he laughs. ]
Terribly cliché, isn't it?
[ He shakes his head sadly, as if he were not himself a king cursed to transform into a terrifying monster every night. Somewhere in the universe, he thinks, Zoya would be rolling her eyes at him. ]
The stories said that it lured girls out to the water with its song and then dragged them under the waves to be its bride, only to wail and weep when they starved to death. But I have to say, having seen the thing up close myself, it wasn't about to seduce anyone. It was just an animal. A dangerous, powerful wild animal with about seven rows of teeth and a foul temper.