Rivers of the Night-Chapter 285: Purpose

Chapter 285: Purpose

“The Nightingale Empire’s representative, Theron Galethunder, has won majority support. You may make the decision, Scholar Galethunder. Would you like to go first, or would you like to go second?”

“Second,” Theron said calmly.

Faustin’s gaze was trained on Theron, as though trying to see through him. But by now, his confidence had returned.

In a debate, going second often gave a slight advantage, especially since you would have the chance to get in the last word for closing statements. Although the judges were unbiased, they were also human. It was hard not to experience the longest lasting impression from the last thing you heard, no matter how experienced.

However… going first also had its advantages, if you could seize the moment.

And against an unprepared opponent who was likely trying to use the chance of going second to gather information and think of counters, this was the best sort of situation to go first in.

“You have two minutes,” Mello nodded toward Faustin.

“In that case, I will take the reins once more,” Faustin said with a confident smile. He gave Drake a look to see if the latter would be using his flag to take over the discussion already, but when he didn’t move, he began to speak.

“The opposition’s opening statement was quite a disappointment and doesn’t leave me with much to rebut. Childish insults aren’t the way of the academic stream, and it also underlines the exact sort of immaturity I wished to point out by mentioning the lazy nature of the Nightingale Empire’s choices in this case.

“Even so, I will press forward nonetheless. I believe the opponent only really has a few ways to rebut my position, if they should ever choose to actually treat this debate with the seriousness it deserves.

“Yes, it is true that Empires were built on the backs of often singular great men whose names ring loud and true throughout history. And yes, it is also true that only geniuses can find new paths among the trenches of stale patterns and complacency. However, both of these paths of rebuttal are lacking.

“Great men are most often remembered through history, but this does not mean that they acted alone. They had equally great women by their sides, they had generals under them, and the soldiers beneath said generals. They had scholars to help them set their laws and officials to help execute them. And then there were their citizens themselves, people who probably toiled under previous regimes and hunkered down during war, holding on in times of strife and even participating when there was no one left to fight.

“I would say that trying to use the argument that great men made nations would be ridiculous. The second argument has much more teeth to it, in my opinion, and yet is still very much lacking. The only reason geniuses could ever possibly grasp new patterns within stale ones is by standing on the shoulders of giants to begin with.

“How can you carve out a new path of ingenuity without the confidence provided by the known barriers outlined by your ancestors? I, for one—”

“Time.” Mello spoke.

It was exactly two minutes. Truthfully, Faustin used his time well, even deliberately slowing down his speech so that every word was perfectly enunciated.

“Alright. The challengers have spoken. It is now time for your rebuttal.”

Theron stepped forward to speak, but he didn’t receive a chance to. Lyn almost instantly held up his flag.

“And an interesting twist of fate. It seems that Lyn will use his Empire’s flag so quickly, taking over the rebuttal stage from Galethunder.”

Theron, though, had oddly already stepped back, his mouth never opening a single time as though he had already seen this coming. Lyn, though, who had been behind him, couldn’t read much about Theron’s expression.

“A reminder to the participants: now that a flag has been used, Scholar Auran is guaranteed a third of your speaking time. In addition, the one who was removed from the stage cannot use their flag to return to the stage even after this period is up.

“Please begin, Scholar Auran. You have three minutes, including a one-minute immunity. Do remember that if you should lose this debate, your Auran Empire will lose the right to make use of this flag in the next round. However, should you succeed and claim the highest point total in this round, your Auran Clan will be given an advantage in the next.”

Lyn nodded and smiled in understanding, looking back to Theron with a hint of a snide look in his eyes. But Theron only gave him a gentle smile, his arms clasped behind his back.

The Auran representative raised an internal eyebrow, but with the timer about to start, he had no choice but to turn back to Faustin, readying himself to speak.

“What Scholar Sangun says has some merit, but I believe that he is losing sight of the greater picture. While it is true that great men and geniuses alike both stand on the shoulders of giants, it is impossible for a group of the mediocre to have many accomplishments on their own.

“The irony in using a statement like ‘the shoulders of giants’ when referring to large groups of average people is seemingly lost on the opposition. The saying itself acknowledges a sort of singularity to it all—the importance of giants themselves. Why is the saying not ‘the shoulders of many men’ or to stand on tall ant hills instead?

“Words have meaning and power. When people think of the shoulders of giants, they aren’t thinking of the numerous people who laid down their lives and sacrificed themselves—they’re thinking of the standouts within them that displayed true power and shocking talent. Only they are qualified to be known as giants…”

There didn’t seem to be anything particularly wrong with Lyn’s rebuttal, but as he continued to speak, getting into the nitty-gritty about language, the importance of words, and its influence on culture, he seemed to stray further and further away from the main crux of the topic…

And it was no doubt on purpose.