vivaxardas said:
I hope for the better future, when the Empire will bring peace and prosperity, but it does not make present invasion somehow less evil.
I see your point, but I also see very big conflict in your statements. This one stands in opposite to:
vivaxardas said:
Murder does not have any justification, and regicide is murder.
if you say this about Lodge, you should do the same for each side, which tried something similiar:
They truly care about the future? Sure. The question is: which one? The future when everyone is enslaved, and serves his or her sorcerer master is also a possible future.
But it is quite irrelevant, because no caring for the future justifies atrocities committed NOW, in the name of some abstract and foreign (in a sense of strange for non-mages)idea.
The same was with Rome. The Roman Empire expanded and conquered territories not because they had any right to do it, and were justified, but simply because they could.
When we using comparison from our world, we can also use Germany, not just Rome. Because, when we are using Rome, we can see just big, quite nice empire, when we would use Germany, we would see aggresor, which stared two world wars and millions of casualities.
If anybody is looking for the most decent and morally right side to support it is interrex John Natalis. He can't become king, and what he is doing he is doing exclusively for Temeria. He serves his homeland and protects it, and he does not commit any atrocities in the process.
But I see (and it's just my opinion, I know
) much better example in Lodge. I don't know Natalis so much, that could be one reason. If I take other measures, also sorceress probably can't became queen normally. What he is doing exclusively for Temeria, they are doing for whole world (it's not good to judge them just because of this one example, which failed). Atrocity - they are also much better than others, Natalis is maybe perfectly clear, but Lodge has only one act like this and that was Sabrina's termination of war. But I don't see it like something worse than starting of this war. Yes, she broke her layality to Henselt and his soldiers, but to support him in his aggressive acts would be even worse.
The major problem with the Lodge I see is that they represent themselves, and not any group of people, and strife for their personal interests
I don't see something like this. They represented and helped many and many peoples to stop Henselt from invasion, they helped non-humans to find some home, so that 'group' of people was that nation, which followed Saskia. As Philippa said, they wanted to create stronger state to face Nilfgaardians, this is not just 'their interest'. Their interest would be elimination of every king, who stands against them, for example.
and not the interests of their group. Sure, they talk a lot about the mages, but at the same time they are ready to unleash a dragon to burn everyone in Loc Muinne, all the mages included.
That was just act of desperation. And even there, if I take it from Geralt's point of view, Sheala tried to warn him and gave him chance to leave. I am not sure, but maybe she meant just persons from that summit, when she talked about thomb (but I have to see it again), because it's quite impossible to kill everyone in that city and she didn't need that, she just needed to get rid of her followers, which were in that 'amphitheatre'?.
May be, if Saskia's state succeeds, and Philipa actually shows that she can be benevolent, then the Lodge will be on equal footing with any official power, and will get a popular support. Right now it is simply two sorceresses who are killing people and sawing chaos for some very obscure reason, and it is very troubling.
"Killing people" is too much general term. If I don't count that desperate act in Loc Muinne, and Sabrina's act, when soldiers were already killing each other, there remains nearly just case with Damawend. Who else (except Natalis
) is such moderate in his acts? Henselt? Emhyr? I think there is 1 victim of Lodge on hundreds or maybe thousands victims of kings (emperor).
And I think they succeed little bit - if you trust to Dandelion's word on the end of game, non humans and other peoples found their home. What Nilfgaard will do with it is next topic, but now, in that directtion set by sorceresses, they have their wonderland. No one else succed much in this (human - non-human, equal fighting next to each other (not usin one side just to achieve victory,..).
But after some reflection on this matter I wouldn't want them dead.
I am happy now
..
It would be good for Radovid, despite this little eyes-gouging accident, or other Northern force to reach some sort of agreement with them.
Triss said it partly right, kings didn't count with mages too much. What mages did (their greatest acts - controlling of births, putting nobles together, their meetings) were mainly secret things, because kings in their stupidity and arrogance thought, they are here just for their needs. So if you exclude such a powerful company, it will create secret organisation. If there will be witch hunt (but also hateness, ignorance), I (as a mage) would organizate secret movement immediatelly to do something with it.
As I see it, you support the Lodge because you believe they will bring a good and prosperous future. The same with me believing this about the empire. We simply like them personally, and we hope for the good outcome. But it is just this - a hope, nothing else.
True, true. So take my words just like disputation, ideas, assumptions,.. But not like some big offensive against your opinion
..
