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Tales from Arcerra (4th Edition)
Book of Lavender: Itohan, Ashanti, and the Pool of Lava.

Book of Lavender: Itohan, Ashanti, and the Pool of Lava.

This is where the saying "to swim in lava" comes from. Doing something that you believe is wrong because you've been told to. A great sin in the eyes of the Divine Blessings.

In their search for their chosen one, Silva and his disciples wandered the land for months. Silva does not tire, but his followers are in need of a brief respite. This opportunity was used to teach them a valuable lesson. Silva waves his hand over the desolate ground, and a bubbling pool of lava rises from beneath the dirt, spewing molten rocks towards the feet of his disciples. Silva speaks. "Itohan, tell me. If Ashanti told you to jump into this pool of lava, would you?"

"No. Absolutely not. I would be a fool to plunge to my death."

Silva stands in silence for a few moments. "Ashanti. Even if Itohan told you to, would you push her into the magma before you?"

Ashanti, a fellow follower of Silva, shakes her head. "Never. I could not bear to watch her burn by my own hands."

Again, Silva stops. He looks in the direction of the pool of lava and, by his will, it becomes a fiery pit of infernal magma, something that could consume the flesh and leave nary a trace behind. Again, He speaks.

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"Itohan, jump into this pool of lava. If she does not jump in three seconds, Ashanti, push her."

Itohan and Ashanti both freeze in fear, and three seconds pass a dozen times over before either disciple moves. Ashanti places her hand on Itohan's shoulder. "H-hey, Itohan. Why don't we both push each other?"

Itohan grabs Ashanti by the waist and pulls them both closer towards the pool of lava. "Maybe it would be easier if we both stepped in at the same time."

"Both. Such is the will of Silva." Itohan and Ashanti drop into the pool, but Silva returns them to his side in a flash of light before they could be burned.

"Itohan, despite knowing that you are plunging to your death, you would jump because I command it?"

"Of course lord."

"Ashanti, despite knowing that your loved one will suffer by your actions, you would condemn them so because I told you to?"

"All is as you wish, Silva."

Silva dismisses the boiling cauldron of lava. "Fools. Use the intelligence I gifted to you to decide whether you should follow my every word as I intend or not. Rats and dogs make for a suitable apex creation if all I wished for was servitude. I have given you my ability to judge for a reason. But this is not to say that my word is not final. I am absolute. If you want to disobey and stray from the path...again, I will not stop you. This is the challenge I wish for humanity to overcome."

Silva's journey for the chosen one continues.