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[h1][color=778da9]Mirielle[/color][/h1]
[color=gray][sup]A collab between [@13org] and [@A5G][/sup][/color]

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[color=gray]Amaris heard Carmen's reply with a shrug as she carefully got up the horse. It didn't take much for one to notice that there would be no 'diplomacy' with people like those. For them, one needed only to be guilty of the crime of existing to justify capital punishment. She could already foresee the problems that leaving them alive would bring them as they continued to try to find the paladin... But in the end, there was nothing she could do but acquiesce to Carmen's decision.

[color=silver]"As you wish, captain Carmen."[/color] Amaris said with a heavy sigh. 

Rather surprisingly, Mirielle also seemed to share of Carmen's thoughts regarding the fate of the soldiers they had just fought.

[color=silver]"Inquisitors and their ideals never fail to surprise me."[/color] Amaris said with a chuckle.

[color=silver]"You both put too much faith on people's kindness and good will, believing all evil can be forgiven and pardoned and all sinners, redeemed."[/color] Amaris continued.

[color=silver]"Regardless of how much you preach to them about salvation, about compassion, kindness and redemption, some hearts are just too black to be changed. More importantly, from the moment they chose to kill us, they should be ready for us to answer in kind."[/color] Amaris said, finally finishing to get up on her horse and prepare herself, before she began trotting after Carmen and Ludvig.

As the last two to arrive, Mirielle had halfway went to help Amaris up before realizing the latter didn't need assistance. She wanted a chat instead, and while they're on a tight schedule the focus necessary wasn't so high that she couldn't spare a word or two.

[b][color=#778da9]"Life may color us differently, but there's inherent goodness in everyone. Even the soldiers we face. Even [i]you[/i]."[/color][/b] She replied evenly, the encounter still weighing on her mind. [b][color=#778da9]"I believe in second chances. It is the very reason why we could converse like this now, is it not?"[/color][/b]

Shrugging, she mounted her own ride and set it in a brisk pace after the rest of the team alongside the penitent. Like it or not, they're a team right now and covering for each other was a bare minimum requirement expected out of everyone. Which include moving in a pair, especially at the back of the formation.

[b][color=#778da9]"Dont get me wrong, some people are plain irredeemable and the best solution is to send them to the creator before their darkness stain more of the world. But these soldiers... they're only flawed men shaped by a hard circumstance. They have the possibility to change their ways should they receive a proper guidance, and I loathe to snuff that possibility."[/color][/b] Her jaws set for a moment, gaze hardened and teeth gritting. [b][color=#778da9]"But if I must, then so be it. If they insist on stopping us from saving one of the scant few source of true light in this world, they will be removed. May the Creator forgive my deed."[/color][/b] 

It was truly... strange, hearing an inquisitor, who were famed by being ruthless when punishing 'heretics', talking about mercy and second chances. About the goodness on people's hearts. Truth be told, it did anger Amaris a bit. Were they thinking about the victims of the guilty? Was it truly fair to give a second chance to a murderer that killed countless innocent people? Did he deserve a second chance? What about the victims, didn't they deserve their rightful reckoning for their suffering?

[color=silver]"Second chances? The slavers your government and your order were covering for deserved what I did. Every single one of those who knew what was happening, but profited from it deserved. What would you do if you discovered a Sarkaz settlement of slavers, with dozens and dozens of humans being captured and sold?"[/color] Amaris said, anger flaring up on her eyes as she did so.

[color=silver]"Do you really think those slavers deserved a second chance? What about their victims? The countless families that were separated, countless innocents captured, broken and then sold as objects, don't they also deserve their reckoning?"[/color] she continued, looking to Mirielle.

[color=silver]"If given another chance, I would slaughter that settlement all over again. I don't regret what I did. Nor I think what I did was wrong. No innocents were killed on that day. Only slavers and those who profited with their actions and did for who knows how many years."[/color] she said, looking straight to Mirielle's eyes, letting her words sink in for a moment, before she calmed down and continued.
[color=silver]"It is quite interesting to be honest. How eagerly inquisitors are to smite, execute and punish those they consider 'heretics', those who sin against humans or their religion but at the same time, how blind they can be to the malice that hides in the hearts of both the common people and their own order."[/color] Amaris continued, turning to Mirielle, not so subtly pointing out her hypocrisy.

[color=silver]"Some people do not deserve a second chance, Mirielle. Some people do not care about others' suffering, willing to step over countless lives for their own benefit. Some others even enjoy watching other people suffering. How many do you think that sergeant and his soldiers executed for petty reasons? How many innocent people suffered on their hands without them showing a single drop of remorse? Do you really think he would do different if he had the chance? If so, you need only to look back at where we came from. They weren't given a second chance."[/color] Amaris said, pointing back to the direction they came from, where they were greeted by the dried skeleton hanging from a pole by the side of the road.

[color=silver]"Second chances are reserved for those who truly feel remorse for what they did. Not to those who would repeat their actions again if given the chance and those who keep repeating their sins."[/color] Amaris said as she made her horse go a little faster to keep up with Mirielle.

[color=silver]"But I do not blame your apparent hypocrisy, Mirielle. Nor you should feel bad for it. No matter how noble and pure your ideals are,  there are some situations where there is no other choice but to kill or be killed. In those cases, whatever reasons you or your enemy might have do not matter. There is only one thing that matters... Who wins and who loses."[/color] Amaris finished.

[b][color=#778da9]"How many times do I have to repeat this-"[/color][/b] And again they return to this topic. Mirielle's visage contorted into an annoyed grimace, though for once her rebuke was cut short by the sheer deluge of emotion coming from the other party. There's something burning in the penitent's eyes, dripping from every word and radiating from every gesture. One that shook her enough to drive her into temporary silence. For a moment, Mirielle found Amaris uncomfortably familiar... Almost like looking into a mirror.

Of all people, the witch should not be burning with righteous fury. Especially not like this.

[b][color=#778da9]"...we will get back to this later."[/color][/b] Subdued, she boxed that topic for future Mirielle to worry about. Surely there's no way, right? The Order, despite its imperfection, was an instrument of good. To link them into a practice most abhorrent...

[b][color=#778da9]"We couldn't know their entire past from a single meeting, can we? But if we run into them again and they're still unchanged, there's no third time."[/color][/b] Almost eager to change the topic, the ex-inquisitor nodded along to the grim idea. It was likely a necessity, even. Too many had mistaken mercy for weakness, and she wasn't that big of a fool to let the notion stand. [b][color=#778da9]"Only the Creator have a boundless capacity for mercy. But to send the blackhearts to him is up to us."[/color][/b]

While Amaris knew her words would probably made Mirielle reply in an equally 'inflamed' manner, she wasn't expecting her to be so tame about it. Instead of chastising and condemning Amaris' way of thinking, Mirielle seemed to just... hear her in silence. Such non-confrontational approach was definitely something new for Amaris, shocking enough to make even Amaris think her words might have been rather... impactful for Mirielle, making her feel guilty for her previous outburst.

[color=silver]"Look... All I am saying is... Be careful to not blind yourself to the corruption that hides within."[/color] Amaris said with a deep sigh.

[color=silver]"Their hands are already stained with too much innocent blood for them to redeem themselves. Regardless of the harsh situation they encountered themselves in these lands... There was always another alternative... But they chose cruelty and corruption. It is very likely that they will be hunting us on our next meeting..."[/color] Amaris said agreeing with Mirielle.

Mirielle remained skeptical, of course she was. Changing her core belief couldn't happen from a single speech. But perhaps this little bit of doubt was all it needed to snowball into something. After all, Areston himself said that true good can only start from within. Only after self-introspection and recognizing one's own flaw can one start uplifting others, to always strive for self-improvement and use it as a cornerstone to conduct oneself.

Mirielle had been applying it on a personal level. But maybe it could be applied on a larger scheme? She [i]had[/i] been silently accepting the higher ups questionable decisions so far...

[b][color=#778da9]"If they meet us again with weapons drawn there will not be a third time. This I can promise you."[/color][/b] It's still up to debate who will be the hunter should they meet the soldiers in red again. True, quantity had a quality of its own, but inquisitors was no stranger to be severely outnumbered. She'll manage somehow, she always did.

The grim landscape flashed past, abandoned homesteads and overgrown farmland littering the view. Even the distinct gallows appeared from time to time, crow-pecked corpses swaying in the wind. It all truly fits Mirielle's current mood, and the idea that perhaps immediate execution truly was warranted.

Such barbaric cruelty had no place in this world.[/color]