Ah.
Osric has a number of beliefs that are essentially undermined by the sum total of his life experience. For instance, his belief that there are certain ideals that society should strive for, such as the supposed Sanctity of Life, is difficult to hold fast to when he is faced with constant reminders, from his past or from his present, of the reality: that there will always be the downtrodden, and that there will always be those who trod on them, and that the former are more often than not at the mercy of the latter.
Therein lies the challenge that so defines the character, because the extreme steps that are at times required from him to, in his eyes, bring the reality closer to the ideal often involve Catch-22s, such as his recent decision to condemn and attempt to assassinate a man in the name of the greater good. Much of the character conflict with Osric involves his trying to step away from his history of torture, murder, and other repulsive acts that are condemned by the very ideals he values... and yet he's often required to sacrifice his own stance, his own moral ground, in order to overcome the obstacles that stand in the way of his goals.
Validation means little for him, other than as an essential restraint and as a lifeline by which to cling to his humanity. Rarely if ever does he assume that he is "in the right"; every decision and choice is heavily scrutinized beforehand, and he occasionally seeks out others for their perspectives, opinions, and input.
The nature of these dilemmas means that those he finds harmony with and those he has friction with are an ever-changing lot, not in the sense that old faces go out and new faces come in, but rather that an ally today is a foe tomorrow, or vice versa. In a perversely appropriate way, those he never finds himself at odds with are the practical, down-to-earth, worldly sort - Keepers such as Kiht Jakkya, for instance. I say "perversely" because in such cases, the man with grand ideals finds the most common ground on the most consistent basis with those who have the "smallest" ideals: food, drink, shelter, family, a corner of the world in which to quietly live out their lives, and the drive to protect those things and only those things, even if it means a fight to the death, literally or figuratively.
Osric has a number of beliefs that are essentially undermined by the sum total of his life experience. For instance, his belief that there are certain ideals that society should strive for, such as the supposed Sanctity of Life, is difficult to hold fast to when he is faced with constant reminders, from his past or from his present, of the reality: that there will always be the downtrodden, and that there will always be those who trod on them, and that the former are more often than not at the mercy of the latter.
Therein lies the challenge that so defines the character, because the extreme steps that are at times required from him to, in his eyes, bring the reality closer to the ideal often involve Catch-22s, such as his recent decision to condemn and attempt to assassinate a man in the name of the greater good. Much of the character conflict with Osric involves his trying to step away from his history of torture, murder, and other repulsive acts that are condemned by the very ideals he values... and yet he's often required to sacrifice his own stance, his own moral ground, in order to overcome the obstacles that stand in the way of his goals.
Validation means little for him, other than as an essential restraint and as a lifeline by which to cling to his humanity. Rarely if ever does he assume that he is "in the right"; every decision and choice is heavily scrutinized beforehand, and he occasionally seeks out others for their perspectives, opinions, and input.
The nature of these dilemmas means that those he finds harmony with and those he has friction with are an ever-changing lot, not in the sense that old faces go out and new faces come in, but rather that an ally today is a foe tomorrow, or vice versa. In a perversely appropriate way, those he never finds himself at odds with are the practical, down-to-earth, worldly sort - Keepers such as Kiht Jakkya, for instance. I say "perversely" because in such cases, the man with grand ideals finds the most common ground on the most consistent basis with those who have the "smallest" ideals: food, drink, shelter, family, a corner of the world in which to quietly live out their lives, and the drive to protect those things and only those things, even if it means a fight to the death, literally or figuratively.
![[Image: 1qVSsTp.png]](http://i.imgur.com/1qVSsTp.png)
