#covenants look different when they're a means to learn how to treat other people

[lingering-sunrise]

I've been thinking about covenants and what if the entire point is to get it into our heads that our word means something? that our commitments mean something? —and our relationship with God is a teaching tool to teach us how to treat other people. We owe it to each other to take commitments seriously. Some of the greatest hurts in life are betrayal, broken promises, and misuse of relationships. How much better would the world be if everyone kept their word to the best of their ability?

[goldenbeastkeeper]

The way the Collector said that had Valor pausing and looking over. His expression soft. But he said nothing and returned to what he was doing soon afterwards. Still, it was . . . nice, to have someone that wanted this space just as much as he did. Someone that . . . cared about him. In a strangely different way than Lord Belos did. But of course, the Collector was both a different species and a kid - and not the lord that ruled over him - so it made sense for this to feel different.

Guilt twisted around in his gut again. No, no, no no no it's fine. This wasn't enchanting. Lord Belos only ever warned him about witches and demons. Nothing about weird star children. The only bad thing he was doing was just being back here in the first place.

. . . He wondered why these rooms were off limits anyway. If his uncle didn't actually know the Collector was back here, then that must mean there were other secrets he was keeping. He wondered what they w- No. No no no that was such a bad thought process to go down. Getting curious never led to anything good, especially when it came to Lord Belos. The Collector was not included in whatever Lord Belos didn't want anyone to see, so the Collector was the only thing he'd pay any mind to when here.

He really shouldn't be here in the first place.

The Collector's reaction to the snorse pictures snapped him from his thoughts, though, and he couldn't manage to hide his small laugh. "Yeah! There are so many different kinds of animals, and they all have their own quirks and personalities and-" He stopped himself before he could start ranting about them, taking a breath to calm himself down. "They are dangerous, though. You have to be careful with them. That's why there's a whole coven of beastkeeping spells. If you want to get close to them you've gotta have ways to protect yourself, and knowledge on what works best with what creatures."

His gaze softened. "I couldn't tell you how many times I've gotten bitten or stung while I was first learning, but it's worth it." The movement of the beetle in the jar falling to the layers of leaves on the bottom after reaching too far for its next branch caught his attention. Valor smiled at it as it began to climb back up. "They don't judge you, you know? Most of them are just looking for food or to protect themselves or their family. Their desires are very simple. They're nicer to be around than people, and if you treat them well, show yourself you're not only not a threat but also a resource for them, then they'll accept you as one of their own. I like doing that better than brute-forcing the spells. Yeah, sure, it takes more time and energy overall, but when it comes to an actual fight? It's much less difficult to get them to do what you want when they already like you. Which makes it easier to fight overall."

He shook his head. "Sorry. I'm, uh . . . not supposed to get attached. You're compromised in battle if a creature you're attached to gets injured and that's bad. Besides, they are demons, too, so . . ." He looked away, rubbing at his arm. He knew Belos didn't like him thinking of them as anything other than a means to an end, as tools, like how he used the members of the Lord's Coven as tools. But he couldn't help it. Even when he was hurt for it.

"I like to see them both," Valor retorted. "Griffins are just easier to ride. But I do like to see them both."

"Oh!" His ears perked up at the mention of the greaselhogs and he turned the pages of his field guide until he got to them. Speaking about them with as much fervor as he did any other beast he got to show him. And continued from there showing his favorite beasts that the field guide listed for hours.

Until he realized how much time had passed and said, "Okay, okay, your turn. Tell me more about titans."

❝ Good, they'd better not. ❞ Collector sure hoped Philip didn't come back early... not that they didn't want to see him, he had been so distant lately, but... but right now it was time for them and Golden Guard to hang out.

Despite not being personally familiar with the jeweled beetle, he was glad his surface-level observation of it being pretty was taken well. Even though Golden Guard clearly liked all these little things for more than just being cool to look at - they were, in fact - still definitely, totally cool to look at.

They focused their attention back onto the beetle hesitantly, after voicing their confusion about many some of the creatures their friend had mentioned prior. At least they had something to build off of there, and wouldn't look dumb, or get lectured for being unworldly and childish, and-

Oh!

Oh. Not only was his new friend not chastising him, he was digging through his bag to grab... a book? Oh, and it was filled with all sorts of cool colored pictures (that Collector briefly grumbled a bit at not being able to see), hopefully probably of some of the beasts Golden Guard had been talking about.

No sooner had their inklings been confirmed did their eyes widen, significantly so, quickly shifting to get a closer look at the book in Golden Guard's grasp. Their gaze darted back and forth across the various colored diagrams, mouth slightly agape as they perused the page.

❝ Snake horses, ❞ They repeated, ❝ snorses... that's funny. They look funny, too. ❞ Collector declared, a low giggle escaping them in spite of trying to keep it in. They were sort of similar in body to those wiggly ol' ancient basilisks Philip was so transfixed with... though, these snorses definitely had more legs, and different paws. ❝ I didn't know Boiling Isles creatures could be so... fun, and whimsical, and whacky. I was always told by Philip that they were just... dangerous. ❞

He perked up when his friend spoke of having snorses in the stables not too far away. ❝ You even get to see them! ❞ He exclaimed, stifling a laugh at the face Golden Guard made at the mention of riding one, ❝ but... you always like getting to see the griffins way more, dontcha? ❞

They hummed idly, energized by this discussion. There were so, so many interesting things they had never gotten to see or experience during their brief free time on the Isles, and it was nice to be able to talk about this stuff and learn things from someone who had yet to (truly) rag on them for not being very knowledgeable.

❝ ...so, then, what can you tell me about these... gree-zuhl-hogs? ❞

[edoro]

How much about Hunter's abuse do you think Belos's inner circle knew? It's obvious they knew some degree of it, but did they know only part of it or all? I imagine that it's kinda different for each one.

that's a good question! i do agree i think it varies, just depending on... how close they are, how observant they are, how much they care.

there are definitely parts of Hunter's abuse that largely take place behind closed doors (i mean, i have made my opinions about that pretty clear here (discussion of csa at those links)) - a lot of the one-on-one emotional manipulation does, and it seems like probably a lot of the physical abuse, too.

Belos strikes me as someone who is measured and judicious in his use of violence - he does get angry, sure, but i don't think he's helplessly or thoughtlessly lashing out at all, i think he very much knows exactly what he's doing when he does it.

but the signs are all there. like just for starters, Hunter is a child soldier, although they don't really tend to view that as a problem in this society.

all the evidence we see of how traumatized and isolated and brainwashed Hunter is throughout his episodes, well, that didn't spring up from nowhere, and his fellow teens aren't the only ones who see it. the adults know he doesn't have any friends. the adults know he doesn't have any kind of social media presence or leave the castle except for missions. the adults know he's overworked and exhausted, just look at him.

the adults know that he does what he's told. they see his loyalty, his fearful obedience. they see how absolutely desperate he is for someone else to validate his sense of worth, how he clings to the tiniest crumb of attention and all but begs any passing authority figure to tell him he's justified his own existence today.

they see the scars, the way he freezes and flinches, the way he reflexively defends Belos, the way he looks back on the grueling training with fondness.

there are so many signs that Hunter isn't well, that he's going through something terrible. and these people see him every day, they see how Belos treats and talks to him, they see how he responds to the people around him. s2e13, where he just crumbles in the face of Darius's disapproval and begs Darius to tell him how to earn his position? that's how he's been taught to interact with adults.

they see him getting "special favors from the Emperor" but they know what coming to the Emperor's personal attention means. they know that Belos is not a merciful man.

so, yeah, i mean, they might not know specifics, but it's pretty obvious that he's being abused. i tend to think different people respond to it in different ways.

Adrian clearly knew Hunter would be scared enough of Belos that he could weaponize it against him.

Kikimora and Lilith both hold obvious grudges against Hunter and see him as competition; i tend to imagine that Kiki projects any discomfort she may feel about his treatment onto him rather than Belos, while Lilith i tend to see as just erasing the fact that he's a child in her own mind, and seeing him as a peer whose treatment therefore isn't any better or worse than anyone else's.

Raine we see demonstrate concern for Hunter, briefly, but they can't act on it. they obviously care (and they were a teacher, so, i bet they recognize the signs of abuse and trauma more than a lot of the other coven heads might) but they're not willing to jeopardize their life's work as an insurrectionist to try to break cover and help him in any more personal way.

Darius is very interesting - i've gone into it a bit before, but i like how what seemed at first to be straightforward disgust at the nepotism seems, at least to me, to have quite a lot of like, learned helplessness behind it. i think Darius cares very much, and recognizes how wrong this situation is, but especially after the previous GG, doesn't feel like he can do anything - and, like Kikimora and Lilith, he takes all of that helpless fury and ends up projecting it onto Hunter and blaming Hunter for being traumatized and brainwashed.

the impression i get from him is that he wanted to hep, but didn't think he could, that there was no way he could reach Hunter or break through the programming, but as soon as he saw the tiniest sign that he might be able to, he went for it.

Terra is a terrifying sadist who has specifically targeted children before (her enduring fixation with Raine is very creepy to say the least) and also seems to be in tight with Belos, so i imagine she's probably very aware of how he treats Hunter, more than a lot of the other coven heads might be, and has absolutely no problem with it.

we don't really know much about any of the other ones, but i think it's safe to say that they have plenty of evidence in front of their faces about how this child is being treated, and that they've all chosen to at best ignore him and at worst actively make his life harder.