He shows no shock or dismay. Disregard for god(s), somewhat similar to his own odd stance, is puzzling, but it is what it is. Altaïr has no harsh words for any deity himself. One has to have a personal grievance for that. What grievance does he have with phantoms? Altaïr's problems have always come from people.
He must not lose this young man. Altaïr knows this is a foolish thought, as foolish as trying to win over Maria with a bit of philosophy when she was all too ready to kick him in the head to aid her own escape. But here again he encounters a driven person cast adrift and disappointed in their previous associations, and Altaïr has always been a proponent of education.
He amends his thought to: It is not good that this young man is lost. There Altaïr finds where it was born, in the compassion he sometimes fears to feel. It is what makes him human and knits his brows not with scrutiny but with concern.
"One path proves to be full of thorns, but now ten others are revealed before you. The light is harsh, but it helps you to see that what you knew was an illusion--as is the world. This is a veil you must pierce on your own; I cannot simply give the answer."
How like Al Mualim he sounds! Altaïr feels a thrum of impatience with himself. Omen-smoke curls out of him again, and Ruya materializes on the top of a bookshelf, no longer warily guarding Altaïr's shoulder but observing them both.
no subject
He must not lose this young man. Altaïr knows this is a foolish thought, as foolish as trying to win over Maria with a bit of philosophy when she was all too ready to kick him in the head to aid her own escape. But here again he encounters a driven person cast adrift and disappointed in their previous associations, and Altaïr has always been a proponent of education.
He amends his thought to: It is not good that this young man is lost. There Altaïr finds where it was born, in the compassion he sometimes fears to feel. It is what makes him human and knits his brows not with scrutiny but with concern.
"One path proves to be full of thorns, but now ten others are revealed before you. The light is harsh, but it helps you to see that what you knew was an illusion--as is the world. This is a veil you must pierce on your own; I cannot simply give the answer."
How like Al Mualim he sounds! Altaïr feels a thrum of impatience with himself. Omen-smoke curls out of him again, and Ruya materializes on the top of a bookshelf, no longer warily guarding Altaïr's shoulder but observing them both.