The Hooded One
Doryani sees the world through a different lens. We must remember that he is of a bygone era…
Doryani
… I can hear you, you know.
The Hooded One
Indeed.
Doryani
And of what era are you, exactly?
The Hooded One
Older still. I have seen many civilisations rise and fall.
Warrior
We all have our differences.
Witch
Yes… fight!
Sorceress
Must I listen to squabble?
Ranger
You are both equally questionable.
Huntress
Hey now… Break it up.
Monk
Please. We must remain calm.
Mercenary
Heh. I’d pay money to watch you two brawl it out.
Druid
Aye, you’re both as old as stone. Let’s not quarrel over it.
The Hooded One
It is a strange feeling, meeting someone so gifted in sciences I unintentionally brought to the world. All of Vaal technology and advancements, derived from my ultimate mistake…
Doryani
You call the Beast a mistake? On this, I do not agree. The gods were nothing but monstrous tyrants. The power of Corruption allowed humanity to seize back control of their destiny!
The Hooded One
And what did you do with that control? In your experiments, I saw death. Dismemberment. A living nightmare.
Doryani
A means to an end. They were all willing sacrifices.
The Hooded One
That is, somehow, even more frightening. The zealotry. The fervor. I’ve seen it all too often… a kind of madness, seemingly fundamental to mankind.
Doryani
Perhaps, but it was their choice to make. They gave themselves in the hopes of saving our people. My only regret is that I failed.
The Hooded One
Oh to bear but {one} regret…
Warrior
One day, all regrets will be cast aside. We will put things right.
Witch
And this is what I get for trying to make small talk.
Sorceress
Regrets are what shape us. Learnings observed about ourselves. No one is perfect.
Ranger
Regrets are useless. We have to move forward. Best you both try to as well.
Huntress
I’ve certainly made some mistakes I wish I could take back. But we must accept them and move on.
Monk
The burdened mind drags itself down. The past is behind us.
Mercenary
Oof, sorry I asked.
Druid
Regret’s a root ye cannae cut. Best learn to grow around it.
The Hooded One
I am struggling to reconcile two men. One is history’s greatest monster, maligned across Wraeclast’s written and oral traditions. The other is the man we brought back from the past, one who portrays himself as desperately trying to save his people. Are they one and the same? He accepts responsibility for the things he has done, claiming they were necessary. I suppose I have no moral high ground to stand on… Doryani could not have done any of what he did if I had not grown the Beast…