[Monthly Prompts] Arianwyn

3. Only if they really need to.

Arianwyn was normally a stickler for the rules. The Mage Order was the arbiter of right and wrong in her mind; the decrees of leadership of the Archon were to be followed to the word. While the rules did not always make sense, that was not the point: there were many levels of leadership above her, all with information that she simply did not have, and thus insight beyond her knowledge. So, when it came to the prohibition against potions, she followed the ruling of Archon Miriam to the letter. There was clearly some danger she simply did not know, some reasoning behind the ruling for the good of the people. After all, certainly the Archon would not ban such a useful item for no good reason, right?

In the midst of the Cursed Crone hunt, however, she found the good of the people was in opposition to the rules that had been placed before her. The monster was wreaking havoc and harm beyond what she could control. It needed to be defeated for the safety of the region and Arianwyn, a moderately powerful mage in her own right, was not going to be enough on her own. No, in order to truly harm the monster, she needed more magic than her own body could create. So, despite the guilt of breaking the rules, she employed potions to aid in the fight. With their use, she was able to do real damage to the monster, and quickly aided in its defeat. The rules were broken, but the people were safe. It was a fair trade, in her eyes; a worthy violation. An exception that should be drawn, in this case at least. While part of her felt she should report her actions officially and seek an exemption from any consequences, she mostly just hoped that no one important ever found out and had kept quiet out of shame. Morally, her actions were justifiable, but emotionally, she still felt as though she had violated the trust of the organization so important to her. She had betrayed all she swore to uphold.

So, instead of risking punishment, she kept her mouth shut and kept quiet. After all, the tide was beginning to turn; the public opinion of potion use changing. It was a well-known fact that the hunters who took down the Crone employed potions, yet no one seemed to face consequence nor scolding, and the people of Ivras seemed to be changing: word of potion sellers was becoming commonplace, and public opinion was calling for use of them once again. Though she dared not speak up even now, she found herself avoiding potion sellers, but always keeping an eye for their stands: she never knew when the next threat would arrive and she would find herself once again in need of their aid. This was one of the first times Arianwyn truly betrayed the rule of the Order, and though it weighed on her heavily, she finally was beginning to realize that there was a world outside of Namarast.