aneth ara ma vhenen

Eric Carle (1929-2021)

"Fifi was a black, long-haired #cat; curious and nervous, she had lively round green eyes."

Flora and Tiger, 1997

Collage of acrylic-painted tissue paper on illustration board

had his body nonconsensually and painfully transmogrified as punishment for doing the right thing

found out his estranged dad got kidnapped by a cult

watched said dad get brainwashed by said cult without being able to help

had his abuser make herself fucking comfy in his camp and nobody really can do anything about it

potentially can even have his partner CHEAT ON HIM with said abuser (!!!!)

found out one of his childhood heroes is a mindflayer now and another is a fuckass dracolich after the first one murdered him

had to choose between his freedom and his dads life

Ulder Ravengard thinks in a similar way, and we have to imagine that Wyll learned much of this thought patterning from him. What’s so interesting about Wyll’s story in particular is that he must bear the repercussions of his father’s moral categorizing. When Wyll takes Mizora’s deal, he gets shunted straight into his father’s Bad Category. In Wyll’s own words, “He thought I was a fool or a traitor, and Duke Ravengard suffers neither.” Notice it’s “Duke Ravengard” and not “My Father”, but I can’t explore that rn.

Though Wyll gets redeemed in his father’s eyes depending on the players choices, we fall short of seeing Ulder acknowledge that his way of looking at the world is fundamentally cruel. Instead of fully confronting that the world is complex, Ulder simply shifts Wyll back into the Good Category. Wyll is reframed as Good, and thus worthy of love again. Nothing has really ontologically changed for Ulder Ravengard. Love from Ulder Ravengard was conditional and remains conditional.