Asheron's Fall: The Power of Ten, Book Six

He struggled with that, as what is good to someone and what is Good are two vastly different things. “What are they?” he asked shortly.

“Evil is the one most recognize, as the foulness and weight it leaves upon the soul is hard to miss. Good is harder to recognize, as most people consider what is good for themselves to be Good, and that is far, far from the truth. Yet most aspire to dreams for themselves and others of Goodness.

“Law is often mistaken for Good, and they certainly try to establish themselves as the highest moral code on their mission to dominate everything. Chaos naturally considers Law a great evil, as the individual and their own Free Wills are everything to it, regardless if what those people want is actually Good or Evil.

“The Alignments interact, overlap, compete, and blend together some.” I casually flipped up a light Holo of the nine-Color chart, and he leaned in to look at the flows of Colors, and the Runes attached to each of them.

“Let us start with True Evil. It appears to all sapient beings as Purple of various hues, the deeper and darker towards Amethyst it is the more willing they are to do whatever is required for their ambitions. They can be disciplined and honest, and then break their word whenever the situation calls for it. Many have said there is a reason it is a Color most often associated with mortal kings and nobility.

“It is a darkly seductive and appealing Color, yet to the Good who look upon it, it looks like spoiled blood and rotting meat, disease ready to burst out, and hidden poison waiting to strike.”

The Mick blinked, for that was exactly what he was thinking as he looked at the hue. “Fuck me,” he uttered without thinking.

“The creatures normally associated with the Purple are Daemons, the Sinbound of true Evil, and they represent the powers of natural Death upon the world in all its horrid forms. They hunt the living, light, and love, and seek to devour and slay it all, including one another, until they are the only things left.”

He swallowed once, hearing stories behind what I was saying. “The Black?” he asked, looking at the Color that stretched from Chiascuro to the deepest Inks and Jets.

“Demonic Evil, born of Chaos and Evil. Destruction incarnate, whims without restraint or care, heedless of the opinions of others, only the consequences of what they might do keep them in check. If there are no consequences, and if they are insane enough, or even if they are not, anything and everything is permissible. They live life on their whims and urges they do not bother to control and can never truly satisfy, and all of us are just things that should be dancing to those whims, and if we die horrifically, it is to entertain them all the more.”

“Black-hearted knave takes on a whole new meaning,” he murmured. “I think I’ve met some red-handed fellows like that, an’ me uncle surely knew a few. Get off on pain an’ lies an’ the suffering of others, an’ ye only kept them in check with fear an’ strength of yer own. Turn yer back on them, an’ ye’d eat a blade if they thought it worth it,” he nodded.

“Kiss a grandmother, kill a thousand babies before breakfast, which option to do?” I made a juggling motion in my hands. “The Blacker you are, the fewer restraints you accept upon yourself and your desires. Truly Chaotic Evil beings are concerned only with their own desires, nothing else, and have no restraints but the consequences of their actions.”

The Mick nodded slowly. “The Gray?”

“Pure Chaos.” I inclined my head as I stared at the Color. “They like to say they are the purest of the colors, for it is all about them, and they seek not to influence others, and not to be influenced themselves. A Gray doesn’t have active malice like a Black, nor active Weal like the Orange. They have their own goals and obligations, and go through life that way, uncaring if what others call their deeds is good or evil, following their own desires, internal codes, and ambitions in the face of others.

“They react the strongest to any limitations on their actions or behaviors, yet they respond well to strong emotions and beliefs, and have incredible drives and desires of their own. They are often elemental, primal, fickle, passionate, and energetic, yet in the end, mostly consumed with themselves.

“It’s a fine Alignment for raiders and bandits, rebels and thieves, scoundrels and con men, effete artists, berserkers and mercenaries, savage tribes, and the like. The Grays have big problems with society as a whole, and tend to gather up in small packs, or if powerful enough, live alone to pursue their ambitions.

“Those who embrace Chaos become steely, metallic, a rushing wind of force and passion running through life like a seeking storm.”

He coughed. “May have known some women like that meself,” he mused.

“Aye, the fiery Aluvian redhead noblewoman ruled by her heart and ambitions is probably a Gray. A lot of Viamontians obsessed with battle honors and glory fall under it, too, as do many a berserker and battle-loving mercenary...

“The Orange and the Rainbow. Chaos and Goodness together. Often called the most spirited, bubbly, and unrealistic of the Alignments. Of all of them, it harbors the most passionate fools.”

My smile made him flush and look around for the joke. “Aye?” he finally asked.

“People who follow their heart in romantic ways, wishing good upon the world, puppies and kittens, unrealistic dreamers, artists and musicians caught up in the romance of what they do, folk who live on emotion and goodwill all fly to Chaotic Good.

“Happily, it also gets its share of lone wolves and outlaw heroes, good folk who simply want to live their lives and be let alone as they let you alone, but who will step up and fight for kin and kind when it is needed. Deeds, not words, blood and not laws, a handshake and not a worded contract, spirit of an agreement and not the wording of it.

“Wandering heroes are often of the Orange or Rainbow, especially if they are not members of a greater organization. If they are, it is because they are friends of allies of another, and they cherish those bonds deeply. Traveling minstrels who simply cannot endure under smothering laws, moving from place to place, are famous Oranges. Rebels against tyranny often become Rainbows, cherishing their freedom and those of others enough to take up arms against any sign of such.

“The Orange and the Rainbow are a part of Heaven because they are still Good, despite holding their own views and goals as most important. Heaven realizes that it takes all kinds to be Good, and besides, they tend to throw the best parties.”

The Mick snorted at my explanation. “Gold?” he had to ask, glancing at Kristie automatically.

“Pure Good, the Alignment of true Kings and wise men, of mentors and the mundane and the moderate. Willing to follow laws, willing to break them if need be if it’s the right thing to do. Respect the fact every man has to follow their own path, respect the fact that sometimes you sacrifice for the good of everyone and the community, without being ridiculous to other extremes. Can work together in great numbers, can break out on their own if they must. Realize that life is flexible, but that Nature itself has laws and cycles, and you pay attention to both sides of things as you go through life.

“Yellow is for the folk who just don’t think about what it is to be Good, they just follow along and go through the motions like those around them. You become Gold by thinking on what you are doing, why you are doing it, and trying to carry that forward and apply it on a broader basis to change the world.

“Immaterial, non-pragmatic stuff that can annoy the piss out of a lot of people.”

He snorted. “And ye fight Evil,” he noted whimsically.

“Well, yeah. It’s one of the best ways to make the world a better place, removing the bloody monsters from it… and I mean the monsters in thought and deed, not just those in body. Humanity has birthed some outright abominations who make demons and devils cackle in glee at their actions, I’m sure you know.”

“Aye,” he agreed soberly. “Some things I’ve seen, they just need to be put to the sword, an’ there’s no denying it, no matter how much they scream about their knowledge an’ lore an’ power an’ secrets and you can’t kill me, I be too important!”

I just nodded. “White and Silver. The good, quiet heart of all communities. The people who stand up and defend those places at the cost of their lives. Who take a set of law and rules and live their lives trying to uphold them, showing the world that it would be better if they, too, followed the heart of those rules, and made the world a finer place for all concerned.

“Paladins, noble fools, pious clerics, wise wizards, benevolent kings, gentle healers, great teachers. The good ones, not the sanctimonious ones or the self-righteous ones, the mouth-breathers who follow the forms but not the heart. It’s a line clear as a blade’s edge, believing in good laws, good rules, and those just following them because someone else said that they’re the best.

“When you look at a person and you suddenly realize that there’s a true blue red-blooded hero, in all the right ways, they are probably a Silver.” I tossed a thumb at Kristie. “You probably think she’s pretty heroic, but she’s way too pragmatic and practical to be Silver.

“Silvers aren’t common. Whites are, nice cities to live in are often full of Whites helping grease the laws and make them better places to live. To Whites, laws are there to better their lives, not to run their lives. Laws that get in the way of the right thing are laws that need to be removed or changed.”

“Ye’re… kind of Gold and Silver,” he pointed out, wondering how I’d take it.

“I noticed.” He snorted. “You probably find me stuffy, controlled, rather serene, and almost mystical. I exude knowledge, learning, and education, great discipline and focus, and what you likely interpret as a sense of superiority which you’re carefully trying not to put down as you suss me out.” I lifted an eyebrow at him, and he coughed to cover his sudden alarm.

“I bend Silver because I believe in organization and education. I am used to working in organizations and doing my part in them. I can subsist on my own, and quite well, but I prefer not to, because I want to make the world a better place, and that is best done with friends and allies helping the process along.

“I can serve, or I can lead, or I can go it alone, but I prefer to have friends and family around, and to improve the lives of those around me together. One of the best ways to do that is to teach them to take care of themselves, so I don’t have to, and you have to have a belief in education and organizations to do that.” I shrugged. “I bend Electrum because of it. It is what I believe, and if you don’t respect that, it is fine, I’m not going to hold it against you just because you took an alternate route. Exceptional people do exceptional things.

“But for the average person, history has shown my way works very, very well, and I’m not here to usher you along my road. I’m here to help them. Broad, low power, not high, vaulting power.”

“Huh.” He stared at me, trying to pick a place to put me. “This is why ye’re so willing to teach me all these new things.”

“I hope, in turn, that you will pass them on to many others,” I agreed. “They are not secrets to be clutched for power… and I am perfectly aware that they represent power, Master Mick. What Kristie can instruct you on will turn you into the greatest warrior on this island, without a doubt.” He stared at me, and finally whistled low.

“Quite a statement.”

“She’s doing it because you’re Orange and you want to sit on a throne as much as you want to go bathing in lava. You’re not at risk of becoming a tyrant or kicking down a king or the like. You’ve proven willing to do the right thing because you’re the only one who can, striding out here into the danger and death for the benefit of others, despite the fact you’d probably dearly love to return to warm arms, a soft bed, and you’ve probably really been thinking about a family of your own these past few years, someone to pass things on to.

“She’s giving you the things to pass on.”