12-17-2019, 08:25 AM
Texōccoatl did not allow himself to reciprocate or feed the raw emotion generated by his remarks on Sakzi's part. He remembered a lesson his father, Topilpopoca, had taught him once.
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Tlālacuetztla, 1986
When he was a small child, before Topilpopoca had even become Emperor, Texōccoatl had gotten into a fight with some other children at school. Texōccoatl had expected his father to be furious. Instead, Topilpopoca was introspective. He asked Texōccoatl why the fight had started. Texōccoatl said that the other children had been insulting him, and it had made him angry.
Topilpopoca wasn't angry with his son; he was disappointed. "This is not what I have taught you," he told Texōccoatl disapprovingly. "You are to be a leader someday. A leader does not let his emotions rule him. He uses his emotions, surely, to fuel his power. But he does not let the emotions lead him. A true leader is obsidian. He lets the fire of anger wash over him. When the fire passes....only he remains, as hard and as sharp as before the fire came. Obsidian is born from fire, and so you must be....born of fire, made of fire, but never letting that fire consume you. Remember this now, because if you forget again, I will punish you for it," Topilpopoca had told him.
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Maivers, 2019
As he watched Sakzi sit down, red-faced, the Crown Prince of today remembered the words that the small child had learned from his father, who would go on to become an Emperor. Rather than stand up, so as not to appear confrontational, Texōccoatl chose to remain seated while responding.
"President Sakzi, I apologize if my words caused you pain, or were offensive," the Crown Prince replied. "That was not my intent. Nor was it my intent to belittle the efforts you or your country have made in the past to combat terrorists or aggressors. But the tragedies you have described only reinforce all the more the need for us to look past emotion, or whatever blinders we may have on concerning these matters, and seek a way to ensure peace and international cooperation through these talks. Your country has been repeatedly threatened by the Gladysynthians, as you state. You know, then, how that feels. Please try to see this from the Xiomeran perspective - from our point of view, we are the ones now being threatened, for no reason that we can discern. Many people have been brought to harm by the conflicts you describe over the years - there is no need for us to add any more to that list. This is the very sort of thing that the Xiomeran Empire is trying to avoid - so that no other brothers, or sons, or fathers, or indeed anyone else, need suffer such tragedies. We seek a fair compromise that respects everyone involved, and allows everyone involved to be free of fear or danger. This is the very purpose of this conference. Rather than continue to let the past color our actions, we hope to move forward into a better future. If we remain focused on the goals of everyone here, these talks can ensure such a future. That is a future we wish for both our people and yours."
Texōccoatl stopped talking at that point, waiting for someone else to speak.
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Tlālacuetztla, 1986
When he was a small child, before Topilpopoca had even become Emperor, Texōccoatl had gotten into a fight with some other children at school. Texōccoatl had expected his father to be furious. Instead, Topilpopoca was introspective. He asked Texōccoatl why the fight had started. Texōccoatl said that the other children had been insulting him, and it had made him angry.
Topilpopoca wasn't angry with his son; he was disappointed. "This is not what I have taught you," he told Texōccoatl disapprovingly. "You are to be a leader someday. A leader does not let his emotions rule him. He uses his emotions, surely, to fuel his power. But he does not let the emotions lead him. A true leader is obsidian. He lets the fire of anger wash over him. When the fire passes....only he remains, as hard and as sharp as before the fire came. Obsidian is born from fire, and so you must be....born of fire, made of fire, but never letting that fire consume you. Remember this now, because if you forget again, I will punish you for it," Topilpopoca had told him.
---
Maivers, 2019
As he watched Sakzi sit down, red-faced, the Crown Prince of today remembered the words that the small child had learned from his father, who would go on to become an Emperor. Rather than stand up, so as not to appear confrontational, Texōccoatl chose to remain seated while responding.
"President Sakzi, I apologize if my words caused you pain, or were offensive," the Crown Prince replied. "That was not my intent. Nor was it my intent to belittle the efforts you or your country have made in the past to combat terrorists or aggressors. But the tragedies you have described only reinforce all the more the need for us to look past emotion, or whatever blinders we may have on concerning these matters, and seek a way to ensure peace and international cooperation through these talks. Your country has been repeatedly threatened by the Gladysynthians, as you state. You know, then, how that feels. Please try to see this from the Xiomeran perspective - from our point of view, we are the ones now being threatened, for no reason that we can discern. Many people have been brought to harm by the conflicts you describe over the years - there is no need for us to add any more to that list. This is the very sort of thing that the Xiomeran Empire is trying to avoid - so that no other brothers, or sons, or fathers, or indeed anyone else, need suffer such tragedies. We seek a fair compromise that respects everyone involved, and allows everyone involved to be free of fear or danger. This is the very purpose of this conference. Rather than continue to let the past color our actions, we hope to move forward into a better future. If we remain focused on the goals of everyone here, these talks can ensure such a future. That is a future we wish for both our people and yours."
Texōccoatl stopped talking at that point, waiting for someone else to speak.
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