Crimson Karma - Ch. 40

[Kaarme]

@snowyang26 Some of the worst offenders believed they had the best of intentions. It's pretty easy to see that emperor didn't have a clue. He even murdered a priest, still thinking he did everything the gods wanted from him.

 

[snowyang26]

@Kaarme I don't think he killed the priest thinking he was doing god's bidding. Soon after he heard that prophecy he was already trying to alter his fate (hiding the sword, ostracizing Tasel). Obviously murdering innocent people isn't a great thing, so I'm not making an excuse for that. More so addressing two separate issues.

It's hard to say how much of his villainy is nature vs. nurture. Besides, if we take into account the theology of this world, both nature and nurture are a result of gods playing around anyway. We have to consider the gods asked him to conquer countries "with a kind spirit." Like bro, you can't conquer anything and not kill/maim/ruin thousands of lives on the way. But here you are asking this guy to unite the world under your religion and murder innocents "with a kind spirit." Uhhhhh. It just feels like the gods are trying to eat their cake and have it too. Like they used him as a tool and conveniently traded him for the newer model so they can wash their hands of blame. Of all the faults to find in the emperor, setting him up with an inescapable catch-22 just seems like an asshole move

 

[Kaarme]

@snowyang26 In my opinion the priest was correct in thinking the emperor was given the power to unite the world, but instead he conquered it through blood and destruction. So, he misinterpreted the purpose of the power, and he's still doing it. He's not worthy, but he can't understand why he's not worthy, believing he's doing everything correctly. Even killing the priest doesn't seem to go against his convictions. It was a subtle hint to make the ostracised son the worthy one, but of course the emperor would fail to understand such a hint from the gods.

 

[snowyang26]

@Kaarme Okay, I agree with you that he's not the best example of an upstanding citizen haha. I'm not arguing that the emperor is a good guy. I'm talking about two separate things, along the lines of two wrongs don't make a right. The gods gave him a sword and told him to conquer the land (yes as confirmed by the priest, with a weapon, to overthrow its rulers, and conquer). That's what he did. Naturally innocents die in the process. It's unfair to shift blame for a clear mandate that results in inevitable carnage.

The priest draws a distinction between conquering corrupt monarchies to free the people and conquering the land to expand his territory. He seems to believe that's the true reason for gods' anger. Motive, not result. It's a case of Kantian/Deontological vs. Utilitarian ethics. If indeed they wanted him to be a just conquerer, I could understand the disappointment (since these gods seem like they're the Greek/Roman type and possess human personalities). I'm just very wary of the idea of just conquering driven by religion. It's very...crusades? The key conflict here is if he's conquering in his name as king, or conquering in the gods' name as a devotee. In the gods' minds that is the difference between greed and justice.

Or maybe I'm just the type of person e.g. the priest who would get stabbed in the back for overthinking things lol *shrugs

 

[Harperbows]

If you are dumb enough to not know someone asking you if you told anyone is the greatest death flag ever, you deserve it

 

[Bluehammer12]

@snowyang26 To be fair to the emperor, unlike the crusades his conquest was actually successful.

 

[blackLuna]

Thank you for your hard work!

This fool of a king clearly has never heard of a self-fulfilling prophecy… nor moderation, for that matter.