Once more with Durance

Jag skrev en text där jag juxtaposed lite BtVS med lite Pillars of Eternity. Nu har jag gjort om den andra delen av det inlägget till en tävling, so here it is.

_________


I loved Pillars of Eternity, and one part of it that I found especially poignant was Durance and the Trials he went through - particularly in relation to Magran, his God. Even when Durance hadn't yet realized that his God had abandoned him because SHE did something wrong, rather than it being a fault on Durance's part, his relationship with Magran wasn't one of absolute devotion, but rather twofold - both that of worshiper, AND heretic:

 "Worship the whims of some fickle bitch [Magran] and you'll never be more than the dirt beneath her feet. Worship what she worships, on the other hand, take her fire for your own, and her esteem comes on its own. Of course, by that time you no longer need it. Trial and transformation, sure as Durance taught.

Durance knew from the start that trying to figure out if he was worthy of Magran or not was to bark up the wrong tree, and that it was better to value actions, rather than "some fickle bitch" who claimed to represent them. In the end, having been betrayed by Magran, Durance was heart-broken, which made him understand just how much he had revered Magran - to his own surprise. How much of a barking follower he actually was, despite dragging Magran's name in the dirt time and again. But even so - he had never had much reverance for mere words, opting instead to test himself through actions, and honoring deeds: "Walk until the words are stripped away, and you feel it burning in your heart. That is the lesson."

When we, the player, finally reveal to Durance that Magran betrayed him, he has no choice left but to "put his money where his mouth is" and truly walk the path he's been yappin' about - take it's fire for his own. Durance knows the pain of pursuing a God that replies only with silence, and the takeaway - that a man's waiting for the blessings of his God is a heavier burden to carry, than to carry himself and commit to the actions necessary for his God to work from deep within him. But I'm sure Durance will get to it, whatever it may be, and then go through it, since he never really required Magran to deem himself deserving and put himself to the test - the fire within him had been burning all along. Or in his own words: "There's no true faith in waiting to be tested. The best in battle have already shit themselves plently, shit themselves until they're dry and can focus on the killing."

_______


Jag var sugen på att skriva något om Kreia från KOTOR 2, men tänkte att det spelet är så jävla gammalt, medan Pillars of Eternity är väldigt aktuellt då tvåan är på g, vilket gjorde mitt val purely strategiskt då jag resonerade att Eurogamer kommer välja texter som promotar Obsidians spel på bäst möjliga sätt, eller som dom har färskast i minnet. Ja inte för att filosofiska betraktelser är särskilt gångbara in the mainstream, men vafan - man får väl play to ones strengths.

BRONUS BIT!

Eurogamers A walk around Obsidian Entertainment.