[Logan replies after a moment; he looks a little worse for the wear after dealing with that damn cave, but he's on some nondescript route and doesn't seem overly bothered. He does nod at Page's words though.]
I suppose the best place to start would be the beginning.
[There's almost a touch of sarcasm there. Almost.]
Four years ago I went on an expedition to Aurora. Prior to that I had explored the majority of Albion - both because I wanted to see more of the country and because I wanted to get to know the people - but the land across the sea was an area we didn't have very much information on. I took a large group of my Elite Guards with me. What little information we had to go off of put us quite a good distance from Aurora itself, leaving us closer to a temple-like place in the Shifting Sands.
My men and I decided to examine the area to see if there was anything useful there. They...
[Logan hesitates, glancing away. He's been doing well so far, but this is a bit difficult to recount. He hasn't properly told this story to anyone.]
...They said it would be best if they went ahead. Some of the men weren't too keen on the idea of exploring the place at all. They said it didn't feel right. But I was reckless and pushed them onward. We entered this place - Shadelight - and found shadows that moved of their own accord. They attacked us.
[He pauses again, this time to run a hand through his hair, stopping at the ends and clenching them for a moment before resettling. He still doesn't look at the 'Gear.]
The shadows led us deeper in, sealing up the entrance and leaving us no choice but to follow them. They were easy to defeat for the most part, but as we progressed we started hearing something speaking to us. It... it didn't say anything out loud, however, it was all within our heads. It taunted us, told us things it had no way of knowing. It called the shadows its "Children" and demanded to know why we were here, harming them. It alternated between blaming us and tormenting us, all until we actually found it.
It is called the Crawler. It is a being of shadows that is nearly impossible to describe. I don't... I don't remember what exactly happened down there, but I do know that the Crawler turned my men against one another and taunted us the entire time. It said it would come for Albion next, that it would destroy Albion and then proceed to cover the world in darkness.
[He falls silent there for a moment. Logan finally continues, shifting a bit and glancing elsewhere, still not meeting eye contact. He's doing a decent job of telling it without terrifying himself, at least.]
I woke up in the village of Aurora with no idea how I had gotten there. There people there helped me recover and gave me a ship to return home. They could not leave their home - they had to fight against the Crawler to protect Aurora. It was as I was returning home that I was visited by the Seer of the Spire.
Have you heard the stories about the Spire? The Hero Queen fought alongside the Heroes of Strength, Skill, and Will in order to defeat Lucien and prevent him from using the Spire to create a new world. Theresa, my mother's guide, took control of the Spire afterwards. She appeared to me in a vision and told me what would happen if the Crawler was not defeated. It would indeed cover Albion in darkness and kill all of our countrymen. I was told it would arrive in five years. I had to come up with a way to stop it when it did arrive, for there was no way to defeat it beforehand.
I returned home with no way of keeping my promise to protect Aurora. I couldn't even keep the promises to my own people. What we needed was money to fund an army large enough to take out the Children and the Crawler. Physical attacks work well against the Children, so logically they should work on the Crawler as well. I couldn't inform the country of this, however, because who would believe me? So few have seen Hollow Men - that is the closest I can come up with to describe what the Children were like - and I would most likely have been declared insane and removed from power. I couldn't...
[And for a split second his voice breaks. Logan shakes his head quickly and recovers.]
I couldn't put my sister through that. I had to handle this on my own.
[Logan falls silent again, finally returning his gaze to the 'Gear.]
I am not saying what I did was right. If there had been any other way to raise money for the army I would have taken it. I could think of no other way. If a few had to suffer, it was a build an army. If a few had to die, it was to save a country. It is inexcusable and it is my sin to bear, but perhaps this will explain just why I've done these dreadful things.
[video]
I suppose the best place to start would be the beginning.
[There's almost a touch of sarcasm there. Almost.]
Four years ago I went on an expedition to Aurora. Prior to that I had explored the majority of Albion - both because I wanted to see more of the country and because I wanted to get to know the people - but the land across the sea was an area we didn't have very much information on. I took a large group of my Elite Guards with me. What little information we had to go off of put us quite a good distance from Aurora itself, leaving us closer to a temple-like place in the Shifting Sands.
My men and I decided to examine the area to see if there was anything useful there. They...
[Logan hesitates, glancing away. He's been doing well so far, but this is a bit difficult to recount. He hasn't properly told this story to anyone.]
...They said it would be best if they went ahead. Some of the men weren't too keen on the idea of exploring the place at all. They said it didn't feel right. But I was reckless and pushed them onward. We entered this place - Shadelight - and found shadows that moved of their own accord. They attacked us.
[He pauses again, this time to run a hand through his hair, stopping at the ends and clenching them for a moment before resettling. He still doesn't look at the 'Gear.]
The shadows led us deeper in, sealing up the entrance and leaving us no choice but to follow them. They were easy to defeat for the most part, but as we progressed we started hearing something speaking to us. It... it didn't say anything out loud, however, it was all within our heads. It taunted us, told us things it had no way of knowing. It called the shadows its "Children" and demanded to know why we were here, harming them. It alternated between blaming us and tormenting us, all until we actually found it.
It is called the Crawler. It is a being of shadows that is nearly impossible to describe. I don't... I don't remember what exactly happened down there, but I do know that the Crawler turned my men against one another and taunted us the entire time. It said it would come for Albion next, that it would destroy Albion and then proceed to cover the world in darkness.
[He falls silent there for a moment. Logan finally continues, shifting a bit and glancing elsewhere, still not meeting eye contact. He's doing a decent job of telling it without terrifying himself, at least.]
I woke up in the village of Aurora with no idea how I had gotten there. There people there helped me recover and gave me a ship to return home. They could not leave their home - they had to fight against the Crawler to protect Aurora. It was as I was returning home that I was visited by the Seer of the Spire.
Have you heard the stories about the Spire? The Hero Queen fought alongside the Heroes of Strength, Skill, and Will in order to defeat Lucien and prevent him from using the Spire to create a new world. Theresa, my mother's guide, took control of the Spire afterwards. She appeared to me in a vision and told me what would happen if the Crawler was not defeated. It would indeed cover Albion in darkness and kill all of our countrymen. I was told it would arrive in five years. I had to come up with a way to stop it when it did arrive, for there was no way to defeat it beforehand.
I returned home with no way of keeping my promise to protect Aurora. I couldn't even keep the promises to my own people. What we needed was money to fund an army large enough to take out the Children and the Crawler. Physical attacks work well against the Children, so logically they should work on the Crawler as well. I couldn't inform the country of this, however, because who would believe me? So few have seen Hollow Men - that is the closest I can come up with to describe what the Children were like - and I would most likely have been declared insane and removed from power. I couldn't...
[And for a split second his voice breaks. Logan shakes his head quickly and recovers.]
I couldn't put my sister through that. I had to handle this on my own.
[Logan falls silent again, finally returning his gaze to the 'Gear.]
I am not saying what I did was right. If there had been any other way to raise money for the army I would have taken it. I could think of no other way. If a few had to suffer, it was a build an army. If a few had to die, it was to save a country. It is inexcusable and it is my sin to bear, but perhaps this will explain just why I've done these dreadful things.