Snippet #2817850

Tora, who was without his usual attire and instead only wearing a set of semi-baggy white pants with no boots and no shirt or tunic, sat in a small cot with his upper body bandaged as he lifted his head to look over at Korrin.

"I don't know if I have any good answers for you, Korrin." He bega.

"I'm afraid honor and fame mean nothing to me. At least not compared to the obligation I feel to protect those who can't protect themselves, or who at least seem unaware of the threats surrounding them."

He slowly and carefully hoisted himself up, grimacing the whole way, until he was in a more upright seated position so he could look right at Korrin.

"As for your fear... That's perfectly normal." He said with a smile. "Everyone has their own scale or criteria for measuring the worth of a man. So my explanation may not mean much to you. Nevertheless, I was raised to believe a man is no man at all if he can't accept his fears and prove he has the will to overcome them."

Tora slowly turned and let his legs hang off the edge of the cot. His feet touching down softly on the wooden planks beneath him.

"Having said that, my masters taught me also to be wary of pride and the blindness which can often result from it. From day to day, the consistency of any human being to overcome fear will fluctuate. And this is also normal. We can't expect to be a hero every day for our entire lives. It just doesn't work that way. But when the moments are critical our ability to accept and harness our fears into rational judgement is crucial."

His smile faded, and he took a deep breath and looked Korrin dead in the eyes.

"Korrin... Would you stand alone against an army for the sake of honor and glory, whether or not you knew it would follow you afterwards?"