hubris will be our mightiest foe

"They certainly are very...enthusiastic."

Aegaeon's companions' seemingly rampant levels of sexuality, highly apparent, knew no bounds of time or place. There was a magnetism between each pair not separated by battle nor bedtime.

Aegaeon himself was no stranger to such a magnetism. Their devotion to Emperor Hugo knew no bounds, no quarter. But at the same time, their boundaries were quite firm. When he gave compliments, they never had an iota of undertone, implication or innuendo. If others were struck by the force of his remarks, in any unforeseen way, Aegaeon could at divers times be convinced to remediate their behavior. His intent was certainly not to offend.

The rest of the party, meanwhile, beckoned to each other in endless circles and circuits.

Brighid flustered Lora. Mythra taunted Haze. Milton knew no end of affection for Mikhail. Minoth and Jin spent hours, whole nights, alone, talking. Addam and Hugo were...dear to each other.

Were any of these behaviors necessarily, definitionally, inherently and intrinsically romantic?

It was indeed a puzzle.

"You take issue with their wonts, Aegaeon?"

Azurda, of course, was quite content with these circumstances. As everyone save Aegaeon was coupled up, none could make jabs at him about his problems with women, his proclivity toward spoiling and acting foolish in the name of courtship.

Not that anything could ever shake Lora's attachment to Jin, Addam's care for Minoth.

"They possess so many facets."

"As do you. As do we."

"Yes, but..."

Aegaeon was a Blade, no matter how finely sculpted. If fortune should favor tradition, each time he fell in battle, his Core would be passed on through generations of Ardainian royals, never to leave the auspices of the Empire. They would remain a loyal, dutiful, inscrutable servant of whichever emperor, young and blue-haired or doddering and late-raven, ad infinitum.

Indeed, Aegaeon's character and personal legacy was wholly dependent upon the whims of the Ardainian throne. He derived so much fulfillment, if not joy, from serving the emperor, fighting alongside Brighid, protecting his own, that he had to wonder if this was not too limited a life.

The others employed their lives as conduits to nuanced connection, entirely taken with individuals entirely different to themselves, but bearing some crucial, relatable similarity. If Mythra should disappear, Haze would be crushed. Jin and Minoth might very well fatally intertwine.

Was this weakness? Not at all. Undoubtedly, it was a strength. And yet, Aegaeon did not desire it for himself.

"It should be funny," Aegaeon puzzled. "I should laugh."

If Azurda had eyebrows, he would raise them. "You never laugh."

Aegaeon never wanted for anything, either.

Strength in bonds, they had. Skill in cooking, they had. Serenity in ether, they had.

Charms. Talismans. Sentimental items.

"I find nothing wrong with feeling complete."

Aegaeon reminded himself of this every time he caught Addam and Hugo "necking".