Zakarias/Supports

## Aylanda

### C Support

> **Aylanda**Zakarias, do you have a moment?**Zakarias**What is it, Lightbringer?**Aylanda**May I ask what you were doing back at
> that Lightbringer Shrine in Silvermist?**Zakarias**The same as you.**Aylanda**You were there to restore it?**Zakarias**Correct.**Aylanda**How did you know it was defiled?**Zakarias**I had no way of knowing.**Aylanda**But you came there anyway?
> Was it just a lucky guess?**Zakarias**The shrine was on my path.
> I was merely passing through.**Aylanda**Dressed as a war monk...**Zakarias**.......**Aylanda**I do think it strange that
> you pose as one of them.**Zakarias**I do not pose.**Aylanda**The last War Monks died
> out hundreds of years ago.**Zakarias**Not all of them.**Aylanda**But if you are one of them...
> You would be very, very old.**Zakarias**.......**Aylanda**How have you survived for so long?**Zakarias**In time, I will tell you.

### B Support

> **Aylanda**Zakarias, I just went over some old tomes.**Zakarias**Yes?**Aylanda**The only "Zakarias" that ever existed
> among the War Monks was the first. He was the brother of Lady Dawn.**Zakarias**Indeed.**Aylanda**You are truly... him?**Zakarias**Yes.**Aylanda**But... how?**Zakarias**Every ancestor was sealed away.
> However, I am different.
> Every century, Lumina awakens
> me to wander the land.
> I travel to each of the shrine to
> check that they are maintained.**Aylanda**So that is what you were
> doing when we found you.**Zakarias**When I awoke, I saw that
> every shrine was destroyed.
> Imagine my despair.**Aylanda**So that is why you
> decided to join us.**Zakarias**Also correct.**Aylanda**According to legends, you had a
> massive falling out with your sister.
> You killed the man she loved...**Zakarias**.......**Aylanda**I am sorry, I did not mean to...**Zakarias**It is okay... It is in... the past.**Aylanda**Zakarias...

### A Support

> **Zakarias**You look uneasy, Lightbringer.**Aylanda**Zakarias, I worry for the future.**Zakarias**Why?**Aylanda**I worry that everything we
> have fought for will vanish...**Zakarias**I understand. I worry too.
> However, fear not.**Aylanda**How could I not worry
> in times like these?**Zakarias**No matter what happens,
> I will continue to fight.
> I won't let our family fall.**Aylanda**Thank you, Zakarias.
> That makes me glad.**Zakarias**As the first War Monk, I refuse to rest
> until evil is cleansed from Aurora.**Aylanda**Then I shall stand beside you
> in that fight, Master Zakarias.**Zakarias**We will fight for a better future.

## Ariel

### C Support

> **Ariel**.......**Zakarias**Your breathing is shallow.**Ariel**W-What? Master Zakarias? How were you able to sneak up on me?**Zakarias**You were meditating.**Ariel**I always try to be aware of my surroundings. How are you able to move so quietly?**Zakarias**I have mastered the
> art of stillness.**Ariel**That sounds difficult.**Zakarias**To be perfectly still is difficult,
> but it is not impossible.**Ariel**You always seem so calm.
> Do you ever meditate?**Zakarias**Sometimes. Not so much anymore.**Ariel**I try to meditate before each
> battle when anxiety grips me.
> I find that it clears my head.**Zakarias**You bear the sins of your
> House on your shoulders.**Ariel**How did you know that?**Zakarias**I see many things in you.**Ariel**That is... harrowing.**Zakarias**Your ancestor, Lord Ashe
> was a mighty warrior.
> You do not resemble him.**Ariel**How do you know that, Zakarias?
> He lived a thousand years ago.**Zakarias**He was my friend.**Ariel**Y-You knew Lord Ashe?
> Founder of Ashburn?**Zakarias**Yes.**Ariel**But, how could you?**Zakarias**The world is full of mysteries.**Ariel**That doesn't really
> answer my question.**Zakarias**House Ashburn has forgotten it's roots.
> In time, I will make you remember them.[Zakarias leaves.]**Ariel**What does he mean by that!?

### B Support

> **Ariel**Master Zakarias, can you please tell me
> more about the history of my House?**Zakarias**What do you wish to know?**Ariel**What did you mean by House
> Ashburn losing its roots?**Zakarias**Do you recall the history of
> The Great Ashwood Purge?**Ariel**Of course, every Noble of House
> Ashburn knows that story.**Zakarias**Tell me what you know.**Ariel**It refers to the great battle that took place between House Ashburn and the centaurs.
> Lord Alaric Ashburn, the Ember Knight drove out the nearby tribes in the forest. For hundreds of
> years House Ashburn and the centaurs had been living in peace together. However, the centaurs
> suddenly started to attack Ashburn land, pillaging and reaving. Lord Alaric had no choice but to go to war.**Zakarias**That is the story your family chose to tell, not what actually happened.**Ariel**What do you mean?**Zakarias**Lord Alaric did not drive the centaurs out because they pillaged his people. He was settling a marital dispute.**Ariel**A marital dispute? What do you mean? Did the Centaurs kidnap his wife?**Zakarias**No. His wife was never kidnapped. She was among the tribe.**Ariel**I don't understand, what would a human be doing living among a centaur tribe?**Zakarias**Why indeed.[Zakarias leaves.]**Ariel**This doesn't make any sense.
> Zakarias must be crazy.

### A Support

> **Ariel**Master Zakarias, what
> was Lord Ash like?**Zakarias**Brave, bold and reckless.
> Not particularly bright.**Ariel**We have paintings of him home at Castle Ashburn. He is depicted as a large man with a huge beard. In his hands he holds the mighty Ashcleaver Regalia. He is an imposing figure.**Zakarias**.......**Ariel**But that's... all a lie, isn't it?**Zakarias**So you've figured it out.**Ariel**The history of our House is false.
> Lord Ash, he was no man at all.**Zakarias**Correct.**Ariel**I don't know what to think.**Zakarias**You can correct this mistake by
> honoring Lord Ashe's legacy.**Ariel**The Purge... We drove out our own family.
> We had no idea what really happened.
> Centaur blood courses through our veins.
> And my House, we're not even aware.**Zakarias**Lord Ash was once a mighty Centaur King.
> He unified the scattered tribes on his own.
> Sir Joseph bestowed upon him his mighty
> Regalia, and House Ashburn was formed.**Ariel**Then how did we humans come
> to dominate House Ashburn?
> Are you really telling me that
> centaurs.... and humans?**Zakarias**The Centaur tribes were once more mystical
> and magical than what they are these days.
> Their shamans could invoke powerful spells.
> Some which allowed shape changing.
> Using this magic, Ash spent many years as
> a human, living among another noble House.
> He did this so that he may understand them
> better, and help the two cultures co-exist.
> During this time, he fell in love with a human.**Ariel**Unbelievable...**Zakarias**Unbeknownst to him, this would later cause
> a huge strife within his own House.
> His human descendants decided to rise up
> and purge House Ashburn of the centaurs.
> That is the truth of The Ashwood Purge.**Ariel**This.... I never...**Zakarias**Take some time to face this truth.
> Once you are done, come to me.
> Now that your mind is cleared I
> can teach you perfect stillness.**Ariel**Thank you. Master Zakarias.**Zakarias**No. Thank you, for listening.

## Albert

### C Support

> **Zakarias**...**Albert**Master Zakarias?**Zakarias**Greetings, Lord... what
> do you call yourself?**Albert**I am a lord no longer.
> Just call me Albert.**Zakarias**Mm, then tell me, what's
> on your mind 'Albert?'**Albert**The Lightbringers brought peace and
> prosperity to countless generations.
> But with each King's rule, I could not
> help but feel that we had lost our way.**Zakarias**Your ancestors all sought the same goal,
> preserving the Lightbringer bloodline.
> Every one of them upheld their duty.**Albert**Even my brother?**Zakarias**At first. But Kaethis was complacent.
> He pursued a path of greed, avarice.
> This resulted in the extinction of
> his family. A tragedy for humanity.**Albert**Kaethis was a good man at heart.
> He loved his family above all else.
> Was he greedy? Perhaps. But all
> men harbor greed in their hearts.**Zakarias**Kaethis did not heed your
> warnings of the future.
> His reign brought ruin to
> Andaron.
> His kind heart was not an
> excuse for inaction.**Albert**I will not deny that, Sir Zakarias. Most Kings before Kaethis made up for their shortcomings through advisors. My brother ignored his counsel, to the detriment of all his citizens. They begged him to seek an accord with the nobility. He refused. Kaethis could not fathom the idea of his subjects turning on him. Ultimately, Thorgrim called upon the lesser Houses to declare war. Our reward for protecting Aurora from the Terrors was our genocide.**Zakarias**The Divines may grant their favored
> a boon, but Karma comes for all men.
> The Lightbringers reaped their crops.
> Their corruption required a cleansing.**Albert**Do you believe the rest of my
> family also deserved to die?**Zakarias**Their fates were sealed
> alongside Kaethis's.
> Pray tell, how many decried
> your warnings to the King?
> How many shouted you down,
> fearing their loss of power?**Albert**All of them. They ignored the
> truth unraveling before them.
> Perhaps I am a greater
> fool than Kaethis was.
> I should have taken my
> actions sooner...**Zakarias**No man can change the past. All
> must live with their mistakes.
> You, as well as I, Lord Alasdair.**Albert**Call me Albert, Sir Zakarias.
> Let us speak once more, soon.**Albert**Mmm.

### B Support

> **Zakarias**Albert, do you have a moment?**Albert**Of course.**Zakarias**My visions offer obscure glimpses of events. You spoke so highly of Kaethis, yet you went to drastic lengths to end his rule...**Albert**When Kaethis wouldn't listen to reason, I had to take action. I regret to admit this, but yes, my thoughts turned dark. I decided that slaying him was the only way to save my family from itself.**Zakarias**You did what you believed was necessary. Preserving our dynasty above the love for your brother was the right choice.**Albert**That does not mean carrying the task out was any less difficult. I loved Kaethis, the idea of killing him haunts me to this day. My brother's blood on my hands for the good of the realm? What a sick joke. All it did was cost me my honor and my...**Zakarias**Your sacrifices were warranted. You and your
> students fought bravely until the very end.**Albert**Please... I do not wish to speak of them.**Zakarias**And why not? They believed your cause was
> righteous. Do you not honor their oaths?**Albert**Not a day goes by where I don't think of them.
> Every night, I still see their lifeless faces...
> Did they truly die believing in their cause?**Zakarias**Don't be absurd. Of course they did.
> Take pride they died fulfilling their duty.**Albert**WHAT duty, Master Zakarias?!! In their final
> moments, they believed we failed the Crown!
> Even if we did succeed, we would've been
> branded traitors by the other Houses!
> I brought up those men and women to be
> proud warriors, and I failed all of them. They put me up on a pedestal... me. A man
> willing to murder his own flesh and blood! And I... I...**Zakarias**Stand tall, Albert. The past cannot be undone,
> dwelling on these thoughts will consume you.**Albert**Please excuse me...[Albert leaves.]**Zakarias**Father Joseph, watch over this poor soul.

### A Support

> **Albert**Master Zakarias?**Zakarias**Yes?**Albert**I wish to apologize for my previous outburst. I should be grateful for your guidance. The War Monks knew my family legacy better than anyone in all of Andaron.**Zakarias**No need, I spoke out of line as well. I pried too much on your memories. I too know what it is like to betray a loved one...**Albert**You do?**Zakarias**Someone who... shared my coat of arms had a close bond with a sinner. My visions showed me catastrophe would follow from their love... so I slew him.**Albert**And did it stop what you saw?**Zakarias**It did. But as I said before, Karma comes for all, even if you do what is necessary.**Albert**I see. I will not pry further, my friend. But if I may, I wish to say one last thing.**Zakarias**Very well.**Albert**I've spent the last fifteen years fleeing from my past, nothing but sins unbound. My own brother, heartbroken that I drew my blade against him at his lowest point. My students, blindly throwing their lives away to commit regicide. And now Amon will never know the honorable man Baudimon was. I could've stopped it all...**Zakarias**Mmm...**Albert**Please, tell me. Was there anything I could've done differently? Was it all for nothing?**Zakarias**That is not for me to say, Alasdair. The tapestry of fate cannot change, but it is not finished with you yet. There are living Lightbringers still with us. Devote your blade to them while you can. And when the time comes to join the Divines, your soul will earn the peace it desires.**Albert**Thank you Master Zakarias. Let us both ensure the future of House Lightbringer!