The Recollector's Path (Part 5)

The Recollector's Path is an Event Quest during the The Recollector's Path Event.
==Steps==
# Talk to Zurvan
# Head to the specified location and complete the trial
# Talk to Sorush
==Dialogue==
;(Talk to Zurvan)
:Zurvan: Oh, Sorush, you appear weary. Did you find an obstacle to your progress?
:Paimon: Should we call it an obstacle or a sense of confusion...
:
:Zurvan: I see. However, the records of humans deviating from actual reality isn't anything new. They are a forgetful and prejudiced people, after all.
:Zurvan: Considering how vast and complex the affairs of the world generally are, observers might be able to get an overview of the major details but not be able to grasp the minutiae. Those present during said affairs might be direct witnesses, but still find themselves unable to move beyond their personal subjectivity.
:Paimon: Oh...
: This doesn't feel very comforting.
:Zurvan: Oh. So, you wish for me to provide some warm words to placate Sorush? Did you forget that this is part of her training?
:Zurvan: To be able to overcome problems by oneself, that's the point of training, right?
:Paimon: Paimon guesses that makes sense...
:Zurvan: If Sorush cannot meet this task successfully, then all that can be said is she is unworthy of the title of Bloomguard, and will not be able to bear the weight of the Twin-Horned Chaplet.
:Zurvan: And when the time comes, gentle though I am right now, I can only do what must be done. No matter how cruel.
:Sorush: W—Will you take my Chaplet from me?
:Zurvan: As for the punishment for failure, I suppose you will discover that yourself, should you truly fail.
:Paimon: Hm... If Sorush doesn't want to be bald, she better try extra hard now!
----
;(After completing the two trials)
:Sorush: It has long been a familiar sight to me, but now I feel only conflicted thinking about it...
:Paimon: Huh... On the bright side, this maybe means that Sorush has matured?
:Sorush: I know not if this is growth or a decline instead...
:Paimon: Cheer up, Sorush! It's not like you to get so down.
:Paimon: Right! Since we're already here, why don't you tell us about the early history of the Order of Skeptics?
:Paimon: Although things are the way they are now... there must've been a point to their establishment, right? Otherwise Zurvan wouldn't have helped them and you wouldn't have been drawn to them.
:Sorush: Very well, if you wish to listen, I will speak... However, you must know that my birth came after the Order of Skeptics was formed. What happened prior is but hearsay to me as well.
:Sorush: It was said that, before all that transpired, there were some of absolute purity and virtue who attempted to spread the word that catastrophe was imminent.
:Sorush: But carrying a message does not halt the coming of ruin. Soon, darkness washed over the lands as roiling tides, drowning all that lived in fear.
:Sorush: Just as we saw of the Setekh Wenut, even the strongest creatures were crystallized, perishing during the event.
:Sorush: Comparatively, with how soft and weak humans are, their resulting scouring cannot be considered a personal failing.
:Sorush: But some individuals arrived, rushing into the maelstrom that was the calamity.
:Paimon: Were these people the first Order of Skeptics?
:Sorush: Indeed. Their leader was Nagarjuna. He once was a researcher who worked in the depths of the woods, but he put roots down here to help alleviate the aftershocks of the catastrophe.
:Sorush: Yes, and there was another one with golden hair... Though my elder spoke little of him, he should count as an "interesting" individual, I think? 
:Paimon: *sigh*... It's a real shame that he only lived a few hundred years ago. If he was still here, Paimon would love to see him meet . Then we can see who's more "interesting."
: Why are we competing...
: Well, my victory's assured.
:Sorush: Following this, after my birth, the aftereffects of the catastrophe stabilized.
:Paimon: So Sorush had nothing to do then?
:Sorush: Hmph... Not entirely, as the filth will never be fully eradicated. It's just that... noble sacrifices like the one made by the divine bird, Simurgh, were no longer needed.
:Sorush: What's more, such duties have already been performed by Mihir, Rashnu, and other Pari predating me.
:Sorush: After Nagarjuna, the Elder slowly broke off contact with the Order of Skeptics. However, the Skeptics themselves remained ever-interested in us Pari.
:Sorush: But I suppose this is nothing strange. To them, after all, we Pari are heroes worthy of songs and odes. The strong feelings of admiration we inspire are more than deserved.
:Sorush: During that time, I often heard them loudly singing their poems and odes, and with the passing of time, the scenes of the divine bird's sacrifice grew ever more vivid. Yet, my elder treats this as if it is a paltry thing...
:Paimon: It sounds like...
: Sorush got buttered up by honeyed words...
:Sorush: What? No, impossible! I clearly wanted to imitate the divine bird because I was moved by its passion and will.
:Sorush: The only reason why I associated with the Order of Skeptics was because they would tell me about the happenings of years past... O—Of course, it wasn't like they didn't heap an appropriate amount of praise on me.
:Paimon: It's the same story, but told in an exaggerated way to get people's attention. Even Paimon likes listening to exciting stories!
:Paimon: Oh! But if their intention was to record actual history, then they definitely did something wrong.
:Sorush: Indeed. Regardless if it is I or the humans of the Order of Skeptics, those who condition themselves to accept hyperbole as ordinary will see themselves become like this.
:Sorush: The Order of Skeptics's archives were no longer simple truthful records. Instead, they were filled with all manner of embellishments and subjective opinions.
:Sorush: ...And, unknowingly, I began to put renown beyond action itself.
:Paimon: Looks like you finally get it?
: She seems more energetic than she was when she came here.
:Paimon: Isn't this a good thing? Hehe, now Zurvan won't be asking to take the Chaplet, will she?
:Paimon: Your training is almost at its end. You'll definitely win Zurvan's approval!
==Trivia==
* The one with golden hair mentioned by Sorush in her story is most likely to be Dainsleif.
==Other Languages==
==Change History==