Snorre's Reaction

Word of mouth travelled quickly among the residents and visitors of the Verdant Kingdom. Snorre found himself being well informed about what was going on, even though he always travelled lightly and with as little possessions as he could. With a vast and stable network of friends and acquaintances, he had no need for a phone to stay informed. The news he received were hopeful, but overall still horrible. It was of course a big relief that the army of Verdant Kingdom had been able to obtain an important victory, but the details of what the forces of the Corrupt Court did to civilians was nothing short of abhorrent.

Snorre was filled with an anger he had never felt in this capacity.

How dared they! How could they! Was there truly no heart, no soul, no empathy left in these soldiers? How could anyone feel that killing others was justified, especially when they were unarmed? The most gruesome of rumors spoke of murdered or intentionally infected children.

Snorre felt sick to his stomach as he heard this, and also, a deep sadness got hold of him, drowning the burning rage.

If this was true, what could have happened to these soldiers to deprive them so profoundly of any empathy? What had been done to them to make them enact such cruelties?

Snorre had always approached everyone he met with kindness and love. He didn't want to be a hateful man, he never wanted to become bitter. He had always firmly believed that monsters did not exist. Animals were acting according to their nature, and people who did bad things often suffered from deep pain, even if they refused to admit it to themselves. Of course this didn't excuse their actions, but this perspective allowed Snorre to still see them as people, not as monsters.

But these news, these events, were shaking this core belief.

How was it possible that not a single soldier realised that what their doing were war crimes? How could those in command force people to violate their own humanity in such ways?

How could anyone of them still sleep at night without being haunted by their deeds?