Elminster's Daughter - Ed Greenwood [139]
Narnra Shalace stood facing her father, her anger boiling over. "You're no better than this grasping, evil Thayan!" she snapped. "You do just as you please and have done for years! Years of meddling in the lives of many, more for your own satisfaction and amusement than anything else!"
Elminster shook his head. "I've done most of my deeds and misdeeds in the service of Mystra, the most powerful goddess of all," he replied quietly. "For good or ill, I've been a finger or two of her hand and acted as she commanded me."
Narnra waved away his words with a sneer of disgust. "You could've refused! You could've renounced it all-if you hadn't wanted all that power!"
El shrugged. "Want it or not, I have it-why should I not use it? Who better than myself can I trust to use it well?"
"It's not about power and control," Narnra snarled furiously, "it's about doing the right thing."
"Ah, and what is that 'right thing'?"
Narnra drew herself up scornfully. "If you can't tell-"
Elminster said a single cold word that echoed across the meadow like a thunderclap, freezing everyone. Narnra's face went bone-white and terror flamed in her eyes as she found herself unable to move or speak.
Her father took a step forward and suddenly seemed a shade less old and ridiculous. Contempt flared in his blue-gray eyes as he met her gaze and said softly, "My daughter-just one more young hothead with all the answers. The 'right thing' is whatever ye think it is… but unfortunately ye've seen so little of the world and are capable of understanding so little beyond what's right at the end of thy nose for thine eyes to fall upon easily that ye only see one 'right thing.' "
He walked right up to that nose and began to circle her, keeping close, hands clasped behind his back, voice soft but fierce. "Listen to me, lass: I'm guilty of whimsy and vengefulness and standing in judgment and bad temper, willful meddling, and even loss of my wits, often-but before I try to shape the world around me I also try to do something ye've not yet learned to do: I try to look at things from all sides, to understand disagreements and rivalries through the eyes of all involved… more than that, to look ahead to the probable consequences of what I might do."
He stopped in front of her and said more gently, "Sometimes I may appear heartless to ye, young Shining Eyes with thy heart ruling ye-but I think about what I do, before, during, and after, and turn right around to try to right my mistakes instead of striding on and dismissing yesterday's misdeeds as gone and past, beyond recalling. If ye don't grow enough to do that, ye are no better than this grasp-all, evil Thayan."
He waved his hand, and Narnra found herself free to walk and speak. She trembled, wondering if she dared say anything but found herself whispering, "And you expect me to see all your manipulating as right? And wise? Benevolent, following some master plan I'm too stupid or impatient to see? You think manipulating folk isn't the greatest evil there is? "
"Lass, lass," Elminster replied wearily, "manipulating folk is what humans do. If ye knew of my youth, ye'd know just how much I hate mages who rule, and being manipulated… but I learned down the centuries that 'tis best to do some steering of folk before the steering is done to ye. Because, rest assured, 'twill be. I can at least be sure of my own motives, and that I've thought about them, though whether they be 'good' or 'evil' is for others to judge. The motives of others, I can never be so sure about-until I see the glee in their eyes reflecting off the bright blade aimed at my heart… as they swing it down."
"You… you're maddening," Narnra snarled, fists clenched. "You-you heartless monster! "
"That's right, hurl back views that force ye to think by name-calling-'tis the grand old tradition, let it not down! Anything to keep from having to think, or-Mystra forfend-change thy