game:news:10:lin_exclusive [Labyrinth]

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=====Lin Interview=====

Upon paying an entrance fee you are ushered into a small room, where the smiling Ssar Leverage Bookmaker will present to you and a few select others the following interview.

> - //Thank you for agreeing to meet with us today Lin. As I am sure you are aware many people are eager to find out more about you.//
> - Sure, I would be happy to answer some questions.
> - //So, I have a few little easy ones to start with. What is your favourite colour?//
> - Black, although I guess gold is growing on me now.
> - //Black and gold are a very good combination aesthetically I've always thought. How about your favourite meal?//
> - Probably fried jiaozi? And khuushuur. I'm not really sure I like a lot of meals.
> - //Sounds interesting I've never heard of them, you'll have to give me a recipe. Is there anyone you particularly like to share an intimate meal with?//
> - Why do people need to know about my love life?
> - //Fair point. What brought you to the Labyrinth 3 years ago?//
> - My sibling pulled strings to get me sent here hoping I would be killed by monsters in the Labyrinth.
> - //I beg your pardon? Did you say your sibling had you sent here to be __killed__? Why would they want that?//
> - You'd have to ask them. I don't understand Wei. They hate me. I guess it is because they don't want me to lead the tribe, but they hated me when the tribe had abandoned me too. 
> - //That sounds awful, I'm so sorry. Why did they abandon you? From what you say they took you back if you are in a position to lead the tribe?//
> - The abandoning happened after I became leader, trying to kill me was before that. I inherited leadership of the tribe, but the Zhi-Zhu are historically extremely bloodthirsty. Many didn't like my ideas, and left. We went after them, to try and persuade them to return, and although we did succeed for some of them, there are still others out there.
> - //It sounds like you went through a lot of hardship in your life. Would you say that has had an effect on what you are doing with your new found powers?//
> - Yes I suppose so. I don't like seeing people suffer. 
> - //Why do you think you were chosen by the Goddess to be bestowed these powers?//
> - I don't think I was, really. I'm not special. I was just in the right place at the right time. I was trying to find a way to gather enough Ether to heal the Sparkless. I happened to have been lucky enough to have awoken enough of the Mother's essence in me that she was able to save me when that endeavour went poorly. The reasons for that are complex and technical I'm afraid.
> - //You say the Mother of Sparks had awoken enough in you to save you? That almost sounds like she is still alive in some way?//
> - No, she isn't. It is an echo. A testament to her will. Like a book she wrote before her sacrifice. She is not alive in any meaningful way: nor can she be, for to do so would deprive us of the very freedom she sacrificed herself to give us.
> It is why I do not encourage her worship. I do not see the purpose in worship. She is the very paragon of goodness, an example for us all to follow. Consider her wisdom and her deeds and be inspired by them. She did not give us freedom so that we could mindlessly imitate her, nor would she want us to. By coming closer to the divine Spark inside ourselves we can get closer access to her testament, and be able to more directly access the wisdom she left us.
> - //You say you are not encouraging people to start following the Mother of All? What would you like people to know about your new religion, if it doesn't include worshiping this new goddess?//
> - There is a difference between "following" and "worshipping". 
> It is noble to study her, and to strive to emulate her in some ways. This is very different from "worship" in the religions of the Empires. The relationship is not one of essentializing her, but of understanding her and her sacrifices, and why she made them.
> Xin Za-Rin is not a religion. It is a __philosophy__. And like all philosophy it is not a fixed thing. It is an evolving understanding of the world and the divine that all who pursue it contribute to.
> - //How do you think peoples understanding may evolve?//
> - That is up to them to decide. I will give them what help I can, and I will be more hands on until they are set up, but I do not want to define what they will become. Indeed, I think it would be terrible to express an opinion on what it should eventually become, for fear of trapping it in that future.
> - //A lady who knows not to broadcast her hand. Have you ever played poker Lady Lin?//
> - Well, I'm terrible at reading people, but I am fairly good at numbers, if you'd ever care to try your luck.
> - //Have you had any issues with the Church or heads of state with your new challenging ideas?//
> - I do worry that there will be those who see the ideas of Xin Za-Rin as a threat to their power, and will act accordingly. I've tried to set up preemptive protections. I suppose we will see. 
> - //Is there anything you would like to tell the public on a more personal level?//
> - Don't be afraid to come say hi. I don't bite, well unless you happen to be a Khuushuur.
> - //Oh really? I heard you //do// bite? I was told you once ate a whole live shark in the Giant Coral Reefs before you were deified?//
> - I honestly don't know if I actually //need// to eat anymore, but that doesn't mean I don't like good food.
> - //An excellent answer! Lastly: How far do you think your new religious philosophy has the potential to go?//
> - I'd like to believe there is a lot of good in the world its followers could do. I hope many great healers, thinkers and makers of things will come from the Xin Za-Rin in the future.